Yellow Tiger Flag in Zhongzheng District, Taiwan

Yellow Tiger Flag in Zhongzheng District, Taiwan

When the Qing Empire ceded Taiwan to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, people on the island did not accept the new rule without resistance. Local elites declared the “Republic of Formosa” and proclaimed the then-governor Tang Jingsong as its first president. He held the position for only eight days before fleeing to China as Japanese troops advanced. Liu Yongfu later took over but failed to stop the invasion, fleeing himself in Octo…