Page 78 - An Overview of Penghu

than that of Fujian, so it is reasonable to increase our military presence there. A higher-ranking military officer
should be sent to replace the one there, and five battalions of soldiers will be needed to defend Taiwan. It is
tantamount to give up Penghu, Zhangzhou, and Quanzhou if we withdraw the troops in Taiwan; instability in
Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong is likely to ensue.” In the end, the government decided not to move the
army to Penghu.

In April 1725, the Qing government set up Changhua County and Tamsui Prefecture, as well as Penghu
Prefecture in Penghu. In terms of military deployment, three special battalions and five battalions, such as Nanlu,
Beilu, Anping and Penghu, were sent up, among which the latter two were naval bases. A deputy general was
assigned to Penghu, whose obligations include assisting in military operations of the Minzhe government,
supervising the left and right battalions, managing the defense of Penghu Archipelago, defending forts, and
inspecting inbound and outbound ships.

In 1874, conflicts broke out after the indigenous people from the Mudan Tribe attacked Japanese people; as a
result, Japanese General Saigō Jūdō came to Taiwan to settle the issue. Although the incident did not directly
involve Penghu, Taiwanese society was severely rattled. Shen Bao-zhen, the governor at that time, proposed to the
Qing government that “Taiwan should be separated from Fujian and become a province of its own”, but his proposal
was not adopted. Finally, Taiwan became a province in 1885 when Liu Ming-chuan became the governor. Taiwan
Prefecture was renamed “Tainan Prefecture”, while “Taiwan Prefecture” was established in Taichung. Later on,
Keelung County, Yunlin County, and Miaoli County were set up; Beinan Prefecture became Taitung Municipality.
Penghu Prefecture remained the same. In 1886, the government reinforced its military presence in Penghu when
they attacked Taiwan again. Besides replacing the deputy general with a higher-ranking naval general named Wu
Hong-luo, the government ordered him to supervise four battalions of militia and two local battalions. In 1887, Wu
ordered soldiers from the four militia groups to build forts at Xiyu and Jinguitou. He then set up a guerilla battalion
and a battalion of middle-ranking officers that were directly managed by him. In 1888, Wu earmarked 600,000 tael
of silver and an extra 5,000 tael to purchase 31 Armstrong guns and equipment that went with them through a
British Corporation named Jaden Maderin. He also used the budget to build new forts and repair old ones in Penghu
(at Xiyu, Jinguitou, and Dabeishan), Keelung, Tamsui, and Kaohsiung. According to the Taiwan Archive compiled
by the General Staff Headquarters in 1895, there were four infantry battalions of 2,036 soldiers, an artillery
battalion of 538 soldiers, and a naval battalion of 509 sailors in Penghu in that period.

Sino-French War and Penghu

The conflict over the border of Tonkin (Hanoi) occurred in 1883, as France claimed to have Annam (Vietnam)
as its protectorate, while China alleged Annam to be its feudal nation. The conflict escalated into the Sino-French
War after China deployed an army to Tonkin. After the incident in Annam, the Qing government elevated Taiwan to
a province with recommendation from Shen Bao-zhen, and dispatched Governor Liu Ming-chuan of Fujian to be its
governor to defend the Island from the French army offence.

Liu Ming-chuan arrived in Taiwan on May 29, 1884. He started recruiting strong civilians to form local
military forces and drew extra forces from mainland China to defend Taiwan. He also set up an office in Shanghai to
manage military supplies in Taiwan, assigning the director of military supply here as its head to make sure Taiwan
did not run out of resources. During the Sino-French War, Liu set up two cannons in the northern corner of Magong
Port and built forts in Jinguitou, Fengguiwei, Wenao, Dachengbei, and Hujing Isle to defend the Port.

The French attacked Fuzhou in Fujian to cut off the connections between China, Taiwan, and Penghu. On
August 4, 1884, Admiral Amédée Courbet led 15 warships to attack Keelung and Tamsui. On October 4th, Naval
General Lesbeer invaded Keelung with nine other warships and set up a base there. His army surrounded the
coastline between Fuguijiao and Nanjia (Cape Eluanbi), which spanned across 339 miles in length and five nautical
miles in width.

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