Transitions to Modernity in Taiwan

The Spirit of 1895 and the Cession of Formosa to Japan

Niki Alsford

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781315279190
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Asian History
• Index: History

On 19 April 1895, British Consul Lionel Charles Hopkins, at the northern port of Tamsui, was summoned by Tang Jingsong, the governor of Taiwan, to his yamen in the western district of Taipei. Shortly after his arrival, Hopkins was handed a petition. Signed by a number of Taiwanese 'notables', the document appealed to the British government to incorporate the island into a protectorate in the wake of an impending Japanese invasion. The British declined.

This book addresses the interconnectivity of these two communities, by focusing on the market town of Dadaocheng in northern Taiwan. It seeks to contextualise and examine the establishment of a 'settler society' as well as the creation of a sojourning British community, showing how they became a precursor of modernity and 'middle classism' there. By uncovering who the signatories of the petition were and what their motivation was to call upon the British consulate to bring the island under its protection, it brings into focus a remarkable period of transition not only for the history of Taiwan but also for the modern history of China. Using 1895 as a year of enquiry, it ultimately challenges the current orthodoxy that modernity in Taiwan was simply a by-product of the Japanese colonial period.

As a social and transnational history of the events that took place in Taiwan during 1895, this book will be useful for students of East Asian Studies, Modern Chinese Studies and Asian History.

1 The petition

The history behind a document

The making of a petition

On the cool, crisp, spring morning of 17 April 1895, situated behind the imposing Old Dutch Fort, Lionel Charles Hopkins received a telegram at his consulate residence from the recently appointed Formosan Governor, Tang Jingsong, asking him to receive a call at approximately three in the afternoon from a Yao Wendong (姚文棟), a visiting Qing official, who desired to make certain inquiries of him.¹ Having no knowledge of the official’s name, Hopkins, the acting consul for Tamsui, nonetheless received him and his assistant at his residence. Dressed privately and riding in an unofficial chair, Yao Wendong entered the British consulate. Immediately upon being received he asked that the door be shut and that they be left alone. Almost without delay, Yao directly confirmed that he had come on orders of the Viceroy of Liangjiang² (Zhang Zhidong, 張之洞) with a view to seeing if it were possible to prevent the island from being ceded to Japan.³

During his discussion with the consul, Yao Wendong mentioned that he had visited a number of European capitals as a member of the Chinese Diplomatic Missions to discuss border disputes between Burma and Yunnan three years prior to the outbreak of war with Japan.⁴

Hopkins continues by reporting that Yao went on to say that the cession of Taiwan was ‘not agreeable to international law, and the Japanese had not, so far, possessed themselves of nor even attacked Formosa’, and what is more, ‘[t]he population was extremely averse to the cession, and so were the troops [on] the island’.⁵ He followed by saying: ‘that the change would be more injurious to other nations, but especially to Great Britain and her Colony of Hong Kong’, and in reply to a remark made by Hopkins, he observed that this would ‘not only [affect] the trade of Hong Kong […] but [also threaten] the safety of the Colony’.⁶ At first Hopkins reported his surprise to Yao, but shortly after, he reflected on a telegram that he had received informing him that in Shanghai, peace had been restored and that it ‘was generally reported that its terms [did include] the cession of Formosa’. What is more, Hopkins felt that such matters could not be discussed with any seriousness by ‘persons of our official position’ and must be dealt with via Peking or London. Hopkins then addressed the official by asking why he had not made contact with G. Jamieson, the Acting Consul-General in Shanghai, (a port in much closer proximity to the Viceroy Zhang),⁷ to which Yao replied that it was necessary to ‘first consult with the Governor [Tang Jingsong] here, and that the zongli yamen did not understand the position’.⁸

The fact that the authority in charge of all foreign affairs was unaware of the situation clearly demonstrates the degree of secrecy in which Zhang, Yao, and Tang wanted this mission to be carried out. Hopkins repeatedly informs Yao that since Li Jingfang (as Special Imperial Commissioner) had already arranged terms of peace, it was arguably too late and ultimately futile. Moreover, Hopkins felt that such discussions were a ‘pure waste of time’ and that he did not care ‘to listen to arguments directed to persuade [him] that Great Britain was as much interested as China in keeping Japan out of Formosa’. He subsequently advised his visitor to ‘go back to the Governor up river’. Yet, not to be seen as being too boorish, Hopkins, although turning down an invitation to call upon the governor, informed Yao that he would remain in residence and would be willing to see him the following day if he could have some form of written memorandum from the governor. The Consul’s two visitors subsequently left, reconfirming once again that this was ‘a confidential and non-official interview’.⁹ Hopkins’s almost demure attitude to the idea of a Japanese takeover is very telling. In his correspondences he is somewhat reticent; he shows no sign of concern, and perhaps he need not have, as he would simply follow diplomatic orders. What it does suggest, though, is distance. Hopkins in formal conversations chooses not to reveal a personal connection to the island or its people and rather remains unsympathetically diplomatic, but this is not to suggest that he harboured no personal affection. As Hopkins becomes more entwined in the destiny of the island, he becomes a little more revealing.

The following day, shortly after nine in the morning, Yao, this time alone, brought with him a note from the island’s Prefect, not the Governor.¹⁰ The content of the letter stated:

Owing to the arrogant conduct of the Japanese, and their failure to observe the equitable rules of international law, rather than grant advantages to an enemy, it would be preferable to grant them to a friendly State. It is desired to consult secretly on the various plans that may be beneficial to both China and Great Britain, and calculated to satisfy the wishes of both.¹¹

Hopkins writes that Yao followed on from this by continuing his conversation in much the same way as he had done the previous morning. What became clear, particularly in Hopkins’s thoughts, was that the leading feature of their request was a British defence.¹² Hopkins, in much the same way as the day before, pressed Yao to write it down or such a conversation would have little weight. Yao then wrote a memorandum:

The secret idea and desire of the Viceroy [Zhang Zhidong] and Governor Tang [Jingsong] is to make an alliance between China and Great Britain to resist Japan, and, together, to resist hereafter an aggressive neighbour (or aggressive neighbours). You are begged, as a preliminary step, to ascertain from Her Majesty’s Minister whether this is feasible or not. Should he say that it is, on our fully learning his views, the Throne can be memorialized as to the steps to be taken. If it is impracticable, then this secret idea can be treated as a private inquiry made of yourself as a friendly person, and as having a non-official character. Further, international law speaks of the balance of power. Could not neutral Powers properly prevent Japan carrying out her aim of taking Formosa, and thus acquiring too preponderating an influence?¹³

Yao concluded by expressing his deep wish that the zongli yamen should not be made acquainted at present with this proposal.

On the evening of 19 April, Hopkins received a telegram from Tang Jingsong informing him that he wished to consult him on a most secret and important matter, and that as it was impossible for him to leave the capital, would Hopkins join him the following morning. Hopkins responded that he would do so the following day at noon.¹⁴

Upon arrival, Hopkins had to carve himself a pathway through the crowds of people that had begun to gather outside of the compound. Tang Jingsong opened the discussion by asking whether he had received correspondence from Nicholas R. O’Conor (the British minister to Peking). Hopkins replied, to a seemingly disappointed governor, that he had not.¹⁵ Tang then went on to say that he felt himself in a difficult position that both the people and troops on the island were ‘intensely angry at the reported surrender of Formosa to Japan’. Furthermore, the local residents had made it openly clear that they would not submit and threatened ‘violence and disorder if the cession were attempted’. He then made his position clear that, ‘[i]f there were no [Qing] Imperial sovereignty there could be no administrative authority’,¹⁶ as such he would be unable to guarantee the safety of the foreign community and their properties if a state of anarchy were to exist on the island.¹⁷ Hopkins seemed a little taciturn to this; he anticipated that such a statement was forthcoming and that it was after all perfectly normal that people should ‘resent being transferred suddenly to another Power’; moreover Hopkins truly felt that the potential lack of protection of foreign property was not from want of ‘good-will, but of power, in which case there was no help for it’.¹⁸

After a brief interval, Tang informed Hopkins that he was expecting ‘a deputation of leading residents’, a usual indication that the meeting was over, and as such Hopkins stood up to take his leave when the governor announced that the crowd outside of his compound had actually come to see him. Taken aback somewhat, Hopkins received fifteen men who were admitted, out of the hundreds that had gathered outside, and instantly Hopkins recognised that they were of ‘position and respectability’. After a quick shuffling of chairs, the deputation was seated, and then the spokesman, Qiu Fengjia, using the native Hoklo dialect (which was translated into guanhua (官话) by the Consul’s messenger) addressed Hopkins.¹⁹ At the request of Hopkins, the content of the presentation was written down as a memorandum (later to become of the foundation of the petition):

The population of the whole of Formosa are not willing to belong to Japan. They wish to request Great Britain to protect the territory and the inhabitants of Formosa. The duties derived from the products, namely, gold, coal, sulphur, camphor, and tea to be levied and received by your ho...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Note on transliteration
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 The petition: the history behind a document
• 2 ‘The poor in China just grab a bag and run over’: Han pioneer settlement in Formosa from the seventeenth century
• 3 The British treaty-port community
• 4 ‘And there the twain shall meet’: the formation of an urban gentry in a market town in northern Taiwan
• 5 The spirit of 1895: occupation, capitulation, and resistance
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index