Liu Yung-fu

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Liu Yung-fu (Chinese: 劉永福; pinyin: Liú Yǒngfú; Vietnamese: Luu Vinh Phuoc) (1837 - 1917) was the second and last President of the Republic of Formosa from June 5, 1895 to October 21, 1895.

Born in extreme poverty in southern Guangxi province of Zhuang ethnicity, Liu fought in the Taiping Rebellion of 1842-1865. Following the defeat of the movement, Liu led a splinter remnant, the Black Flag Army into the hills of Guangxi, and northern Tonkin (in the Empire of Annam). The Black Flags suppressed the Tai and Hmong tribes living in the region, who were resistant to Annamite rule; for this reason, the Annamite court bestowed official rank upon Liu and took no actions against his band's harassment of French merchants plying the Red River. This led to French military action against Hanoi in 1883, during which the Black Flags killed the commander of the expeditionary force, Henri Rivière. This ultimately led to the Sino-French War, during which Liu Yungfu played an important role, commanding the Black Flag Army as they besieged a French position at the cital of Tuyen Quang.

When Tang Ching-sung escaped to Mainland China just ten days after his inauguration of president of the fledgling republic, Liu took over in the top spot. With the creation of the short-lived Republic of Formosa on May 25, 1895, Liu Yung-fu was made Brigadier general of Southern Taiwan.

The republic lasted only long enough for Japan to take possession of the island.