Governor Liu Ming-chuan of Taiwan

[goododa]

Governor Liu Ming-chuan was the first governor of Taiwan appointed by the Qing Dynasty. His rule was from 1885 A. D. to 1891. His contribution to Taiwan was extremely great. After the Sino-French War, Liu was appointed to Taiwan. Liu was previously the governor of Fujian Province.

Liu built the first railroad and telegram line of China in Taiwan. By the time he left Taiwan, the island had become the most modern place in China. The reason that China was still so backward was because the government was afraid that such radical changes would ruin the old traditions and beliefs. Another reason was obviously corruption.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

So he was the leader of the Black Flags who fought the French in Indo-China, in alliance with the Vietnamese? I.e. Manchu forces sent there to aid the Vietnamese emperor, who's a tributary to the Manchu court.

The main reason for Chinese backwardness was cos of the Chinese mentality. And overall, China's investment in Western technology (modern shipyards, armories, munitions, steamships etc) actually was about equalled to Meiji Japan's (!). Just that is was spread across a country that's very much larger, so appeared insignificant.

Cos of this Chinese supremist mentality, they never really applied themselves to it, unlike the Japs who devoured anything Western like hungry wolves. In the Sino-Jap War of 1895, during the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Jap navy managed to destroy or capture the Qing fleet of modern steamships. Cos their crews were well-trained whereas the Qing sailors didn't know how to use their ships much. And also lost out in naval doctrine.