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.
Qiu Fengjia
Qiu advocated and organized the setting up of militia forces in Taiwan and sold his property assets for the cause. By 1894, there were 140 camps of militia forces totally 100 000 men in Taiwan. Following the Qing dynasty's cession of Formosa (Taiwan) and the Pescadores to Japan in April 1895 at the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, the Republic of Formosa was formed. Tang Jingsong, the Qing governor of Taiwan, was appointed as President, with Qiu as Vice-President and Liu Yongfu, commander of the armed forces. Qiu was also the commander of the militia forces.