Republic of Formosa
The Republic of Formosa (), was a short-lived republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing Dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and it being taken over by Japanese troops. The Republic was proclaimed on 23 May 1895 and extinguished on 21 October, when the Republican capital Tainan was taken over by the Japanese. Though sometimes claimed as the first Asian republic to have been proclaimed, it was predated by the Lanfang Republic in Borneo, established in 1777, as well as by the Republic of Ezo in Japan, established in 1869.
Ilha Formosa: Requiem for Formosa's Martyrs
"" ("Beautiful Island") is the name given to the island on the maps made by Portuguese mariners in the Age of Discovery, today known as Taiwan. The heart of the requiem is the second movement in which the male and female soloists in lyrical phrases remember those who suffered in the White Terror and throughout Taiwan's history. In the "andante" first movement, the island's most ancient voices offer their wisdom and admonish newcomers to give themselves completely to their new home. The third movement, in march tempo, encourages survivors of suffering to rise above their pain. The finale envisions an island that fulfills everything contained in the name "Formosa".