Japan invaded Taiwan in 1874

Japan invaded Taiwan in 1874

In the 1860s and 1870s, Western powers' aggression was directed at China, causing crises on China's frontiers. Taiwan's strategic position is important and has become the focus of military aggression by the United States, France and other powers. At the beginning of the Meiji Restoration, Japan established the general policy of aggression of "opening up territories and expanding territory" in its foreign policy. Ryukyu and Taiwan, located in the Pacific southwest of Japan, have become its preferred targets for external expansion.

In December 1871, more than 60 Ryukyu people were caught in a typhoon on a boat and drifted to the south of Taiwan to land. 54 of them were killed by Taiwanese indigenous residents, and the others were sent back to China by the Qing government. Japan used the murder of Ryukyu drifters in Taiwan as an excuse, and with the assistance of the U.S. Consul General in Xiamen and self-proclaimed "Taiwan expert" Li Xiande, Japan immediately launched an attack on the Qing government and took the opportunity to invade Taiwan.

In November 1873, the Japanese government sent Deputy Foreign Secretary Shima Tanedomi to China, and his attaché Yanagihara Maemitsu went to the Prime Minister's Office of the Qing government to inquire about the murder of Ryukyu drifters. Yanagihara Maemitsu proposed: "Your country, Taiwan... your country only governs half of the island. In the eastern part of the island, your country has not exercised political power at all, and the Fans still remain independent. In the winter of last year, our country The people drifted to this place and were plundered and killed by them, so our government will send envoys to investigate." Mao Changxi, the minister of the Prime Minister's Office, and others replied: "After hearing about the killing of the Liu people, the two islands belong to me. The people who belong to the soil kill each other, and the decision is mine. I feel sorry for the Ryukyu people, and I have my own way of dealing with it. Why bother intervening in national affairs?" Yanagihara Maemitsu argued that Ryukyu is Japan's territory, and the Qing government should punish the killing of Ryukyu people. of people. Mao Changxi said: "Those who kill people are all born, so they should be ignored. ... None of them obey the king." Yanagihara Qianguang said: "Shengban harms people, but your country abandons it and does not rule it, but I will punish the people of the island."

On February 6, 1874, the Japanese government passed the "Outline of the Disposal of Taiwan Territory". In April, the so-called "Taiwan Shengfan Expedition" of 3,000 people was formed. Army Lieutenant General Xixiang Congdao led a fleet to invade Taiwan and landed in Langqiao. On May 18, the Japanese army began fighting with the local residents of Taiwan. The chief of the Peony Society, Ashiro and his son, were killed in the battle. In July, the Japanese army established the Governor's Mansion with Guishan as the center.

After the Qing government learned about the Japanese invasion of Taiwan, it immediately questioned the Japanese government and sent Fujian Shipping Minister Shen Baozhen to lead his troops directly to Taiwan. After Shen Baozhen and others arrived in Taiwan, they negotiated with the Japanese army and actively prepared for war. Because the Japanese army was not accustomed to Taiwan's soil and water, many soldiers died of illness. The Japanese government considered that it could not immediately occupy Taiwan militarily, so it turned to diplomatic means to solve the problem. After some diplomatic struggle, the Qing government and the Japanese government signed the "Beijing Treaty" on October 31. The Qing government paid a pension of 100,000 taels to the "Japanese Home for Former Victims of Refugees" and the Japanese army "built roads and built houses in Taiwan". "Waiting" 400,000 taels. On December 20, all Japanese troops withdrew from Taiwan.

Japan’s first target of foreign aggression and expansion was Taiwan, China, which sounded an alarm to the Qing government and also exposed Japan’s ambition to occupy Taiwan.

In 1879, Japan annexed Ryukyu by force and established Okinawa Prefecture. Taiwan's security is once again threatened. In October 1885, the Qing government issued an edict to establish a province in Taiwan, becoming China's 20th province.