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The Republic of Formosa (Traditional Chinese: 臺灣民主國; Simplified Chinese: 台湾民主国; pinyin: Táiwān Mínzhǔguó; lit. "Taiwan Democratic State"; official English name: Formosan Republic, Taiwanese Republic) was a short-lived republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895, between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing Empire to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and the arrival of Japanese troops and assumption of Japanese sovereignty. Though sometimes claimed by certain historians or politicians as the first Asian republic to have been proclaimed, it was predated by the Republic of Ezo, which had been established on December 25, 1868.
The flag for the Republic of Formosa, 1895, depicting a tiger. This flag is also called "Flag of Blue Ground and Yellow Tiger".
The republic was proclaimed by a group of pro-Qing high officials and members of the local gentry in order to, it was hoped, prevent Japanese acquisition of Taiwan which China had just ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Many of these officials fled the island upon Japan's invasion. On May 24, 1895 an English translation of its declaration of independence was sent to all the embassies on the island, followed by a ceremony the next day. It managed to issue stamps under the auspices of the republic. From the onset, the founders of the republic made it clear that their actions were out of loyalty to the Qing and declared themselves to be tributaries of the Qing state.
In spite of the similarity in name, modern-day proponents of a "Republic of Taiwan" (as part of the Taiwan independence movement) tend to disavow a connection between the two, thus neither claiming a revival of that entity nor regarding themselves as political offspring of that movement. The reason for this is that the first Republic of Taiwan was created as an act of loyalty to a government on mainland China while modern supporters of the Republic of Taiwan tend to wish to distance themselves from mainland China.
[edit] Presidents of the Republic of Formosa (Taiwan)
[edit] See also
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