Chapter Six: The Second Negotiation

  With the Japanese threat gone, Liu Fei finally felt a lot more at ease. Firstly, he had President Yu DeGui announce that Taiwan was lifting the martial law that had been in place for many years and abolishing wartime policies. Secondly, the Presidential Office announced to the whole of Taiwan that Japan's invasion fleet had encountered a storm and been completely destroyed, and within a few years, Taiwan would be basically safe. However, Taiwan's declaration of war on Japan was not lifted, and the two countries remained in a state of war. Liu Fei did this so that he could more conveniently attack Japanese ships, hold back Japan's development, and why not?

  As the threat from Japan was basically eliminated, Liu Mingchuan reopened two ports in Taiwan for foreign trade, namely Tamsui Port near Taipei and Lukang Port in central Taiwan. However, although they were reopened, ships could not yet enter and exit freely within a short period of time because there were still several hundred naval mines in the waters outside the ports that needed to be cleared by the navy before navigation could resume.

  After the last round of negotiations between Taiwan and Japan, several countries including England, France, America, Germany and Russia have also started to take notice of this small island of Taiwan, although they are not yet at the point of close surveillance, but they are paying attention to gathering intelligence related to Taiwan and Japan.

  The news of the Japanese fleet's mysterious disappearance again soon became known to various countries, with details not being very detailed, but this can't be blamed on the incompetence of intelligence personnel, mainly because even the Japanese themselves didn't know the details of the fleet's disappearance.

  The reactions of various countries to this intelligence were not the same. Britain and France were more concerned, as Taiwan was closer to their sphere of influence; Germany and Russia were gloating over the misfortune, as the presence of the Japanese fleet posed a threat and obstacle to them; The United States was the least concerned, thinking that Taiwan and Japan were out of their minds, and had nothing to do with them, they cared about whether they could take advantage of the chaos.

  In the following days, the British and French fleets appeared in the waters near Taiwan without prior agreement. Although they did not dare to get too close to the Taiwanese ports, it was clear that they were trying to intimidate. After some time passed, neither country gained anything, so they changed their approach from open visits to secret ones. A telegram was sent to the new government of Taiwan, requesting that a special envoy be dispatched to Taiwan to discuss the issue of Taiwan's independence.

  "It seems they can't sit still, if they want to come, then it's hard to stop them. Let's give them a call back and say welcome their arrival, but ask them to follow Taiwan's laws and regulations, when they arrive here listen to our arrangements, if they can agree then come, if not then don't come." Liu Yi said to the "vanguard" members standing in front of his desk.

  "Yes, sir." The young stormtrooper replied briefly, but on his immature face was a mature and cold expression.

  "Also, you must keep an eye on the movements of those foreign experts and prevent people with ulterior motives from extracting information from them." Liu added, still not at ease.

  "Yes, I'll go arrange it now." The young stormtrooper gave a crisp salute, turned and walked out of the office, closing the door firmly behind him.

  "What a hassle... It seems like someone is finally paying attention to Taiwan." Liu Mo supported his forehead with his hand, feeling quite annoyed.

  On July 3, 1897, a British-French inspection team led by William Robinson, the Governor of Hong Kong, arrived at the Presidential Palace in Taipei. Taiwan President Yu Derui received William and his party at the Presidential Palace and hosted a banquet that evening at the Taipei Presidential Palace.

  This William Robinson was the 11th Governor of Hong Kong, having served in several colonies and is now over 50 years old with a big beard on his face; His name also has another translation: William Robison; There is a road called Robinson Road in Hong Kong, I don't know if it's named after him.

  Starting from the second day, William's delegation was accompanied by personnel from the Presidential Palace to visit ports and cities such as Taipei, Tamsui, Chiatung, Changhua, etc. William expressed surprise at the complete railway and highway construction and numerous small factories and sugar refineries in this newly independent island nation. However, the accompanying personnel of the Presidential Palace also refused the delegation's request to visit Keelung City and its port according to regulations, specifically stating that Taiwan is currently at war, many ports and cities have been designated as military restricted areas, so it is not convenient to visit.

  Negotiations on Taiwan independence began on the tenth day, with Liu Fu leading several members of the General Staff and several lawyers participating. Liu Fu's external title was Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Liu Mo also mixed in, serving as Liu Fu's translator.

  Whenever it's a negotiation, none of them are interesting. Everyone sits face to face, and then there are all sorts of probes, conditions, and interests. When these things are mixed together like a mess, you can't tell who is who, and when that happens, the negotiations are basically over.

  Because the Japanese were too busy to take care of Taiwan for a period of time, and Taiwan's sugar and camphor were strategic materials that Europe needed in large quantities, so Britain and France did not want to destroy Taiwan either. This was beneficial to everyone, except Japan, of course. From this instance where Britain and France pushed Japan aside and held separate talks with Taiwan, it can be seen that between countries, everything is about naked self-interest, without even any pretence of concealment.

  Britain and France proposed to establish a concession in Taiwan, open several ports in Taiwan, and some trade privileges, etc., in exchange for the recognition of Britain and France to Taiwan, and to a certain extent protect Taiwan from external interference.

  Liu Fei bluntly refused through Liu Fu, and further proposed that Taiwan's independence would not be influenced by any country. If they wanted to trade normally with Taiwan, both sides should be equal, and there was no need to discuss concessions, privileges, or designated ports. As for external interference, Liu Fu sneered at William, saying: "Hasn't there been enough interference in the past two years?" However, Taiwan is not completely unscathed, but we don't need your protection, we have Mazu's blessing.

  The Anglo-French delegation came with the intention of taking advantage, but as soon as the negotiations began, they realized that this new Taiwanese government was a different breed from the Qing government: both unreliable and tough. Not only did they not agree to all the conditions put forward by the delegation, but they also seemed unenthusiastic about whether or not Britain and France recognized them, and were extremely opposed to relying on the two countries for protection; instead, they seemed more concerned with foreign trade and commercial interests, turning a political negotiation into a business negotiation.

  For this situation, the British and French representatives in the group were also unexpected. The original plan was to take advantage of Japan's inability to intervene, and the two countries would seize the opportunity to occupy this small island rich in sugar, camphor, and rice at a minimal cost. However, the actual situation was that the other party was a cunning merchant who only wanted to trade and didn't care about anything else. Whether you acknowledge it or not, whether you impose an arms embargo or not, we don't plan to buy anyway. As for the slight threat to safety, the other side even brought out the goddess Mazu, and you wouldn't believe it, but the largest and strongest fleet in the Far East had just been punished by this goddess.

  William left Taiwan with a sense of frustration, but their trip was not entirely without gain. During the over 10-day visit, they discovered several noteworthy issues. Firstly, the new Taiwanese government has a high degree of control, and there is basically no second voice within Taiwan. Secondly, Taiwan's infrastructure development is extremely rapid, with the railway and highway around the island, factories near Taipei, and sugar mills near Taichung being comparable to those in Europe. Every city has several schools, mostly elementary schools, with few middle schools, indicating that education has only just begun a few years ago. There are also hospitals, and William even discovered several regular Western-style hospitals, which not only have sufficient medicine but also many European doctors and surgical equipment. Finally, Taiwan's defense capabilities, due to the new government's tight control, were not fully visible during this trip, but from the final speech of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, William could clearly hear that he has unreserved confidence in Taiwan's self-defense capabilities.

  In the face of the negotiation results, the British and French governments were also helpless. The resources on Taiwan Island are needed by both countries, but it's not worth starting a war to get these resources. Moreover, after Japan recovers in a few years, they will definitely not give up Taiwan easily, which would be another trouble.

  Come soft, the Taiwanese government does not accept; come hard, it's clearly a losing deal. In the end, the two countries decided to maintain the status quo, neither recognizing nor denying, still doing business as usual, but refusing to sell weapons. It has to be said that Americans are wise, they have maintained this attitude from start to finish.