The Japanese encountered the largest scale resistance in the mountainous Changhua County in central Taiwan. In August 1895, thousands of local militia gathered alongside remnants of the Qing army to resist the Japanese on a local hill named Baguashan.
They were outnumbered five to one and poorly armed but fought relentlessly for days, killing over 1,000 Japanese soldiers, including a general, before being overwhelmed. Fewer than 50 survived.
One of the leaders, Xu Xiang, left behind words that still stir the heart: “If this land falls, Taiwan is lost. I will not live to see the motherland again.”