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China continues to reinforce historical narratives related to Taiwan. The local procuratorate in Fujian Province is promoting the restoration and construction of the “Fuzhou Garrisoned Taiwan Soldiers' Cemetery”, highlighting the Qing dynasty’s role in defending sovereignty during Japan’s 1874 Peony Society Incident expedition to Taiwan.
On Monday, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate announced on its WeChat public platform that “procuratorial recommendations have helped restore the dignity of the resting place for 135 soldiers garrisoned in Taiwan.” The cemetery was listed as a batch-seven national key cultural relic protection site by China in 2013. However, the Mawei District Procuratorate in Fuzhou, Fujian, recently found during its public interest prosecution duties that the tombstones had severely weathered, some inscriptions were no longer recognizable, and there was a lack of historical event information nearby.
Prosecutor Weng Dizhou of Mawei District Procuratorate stated that the Fuzhou Garrisoned Taiwan Soldiers' Cemetery is “an important historical site of modern anti-invasion struggles, and a vital testimony to the shared ancestry and united resistance to foreign invaders between Fujian and Taiwan.”
The article notes that the Fuzhou Garrisoned Taiwan Soldiers' Cemetery was first built in 1874.
In the Jiaxu year of Emperor Tongzhi, Japan invaded Taiwan using the “Peony Society Incident” as a pretext. Shen Baozhen, Minister of the Fujian Shipping Administration, led troops to Taiwan to resist the enemy. The 135 soldiers who died in battle or of disease were buried here.
The article says that after sending procuratorial recommendations to Mawei District’s culture and tourism bureau and other departments, various rectification measures are underway. At that time, visitors paying respects will be able to learn the details of this historical episode.
Japan, citing the killing of Ryukyuan people who drifted to Taiwan by indigenous peoples in 1871, dispatched troops in 1874 to attack indigenous tribes in southern Taiwan, known as the Peony Society Incident. At the time, the Tongzhi Emperor sent Shen Baozhen, Minister of the Shipping Administration, as Imperial Commissioner to Taiwan, overseeing coastal defense and diplomacy with other countries. After the conflict, negotiations ensued between the Qing government and Japan.
The Peony Society Incident is seen as a key turning point in Taiwan’s modern history. It marked Japan’s first overseas military operation since the Meiji Restoration and also influenced a shift in the Qing court’s governance policy towards Taiwan.
Last November, Japanese official Sanae Takaichi's remarks about a “Taiwan contingency” sparked dissatisfaction in China. In response, China not only cooled down bilateral exchanges in reality but also reinforced and reorganized its historical narratives concerning disputes with Japan and Taiwan. At that time, the public opinion sector stirred up discussions of the “undetermined status of Ryukyu”, and academia actively promoted “Ryukyu studies”, which was seen as a means to counter Japan’s narrative.