Shared history

Shen established the groundbreaking Foochow Arsenal, a shipbuilding academy in Fuzhou, Fujian province, in 1866, creating China's first modern naval base for shipbuilding and training, marking a pivotal step in China's Self-Strengthening Movement to build a modern navy with steam-powered warships.

Guo Man, director of the Taiwan History Institute at Fujian Normal University's Center for Studies of Fujian and Taiwan, said the establishment of the naval academy was significant to Taiwan's modernization.

Guo said that the academy was a direct response to intensifying the post-Opium War maritime defense crises, highlighting the one-entity relationship between Fujian and Taiwan.

"Taiwan's durable camphor wood was vital for shipbuilding, and a large amount was transported to Fujian as key materials, which symbolized the shared roots of the two sides," he said.

In 1874, Shen traveled to Taiwan to deal with the Japanese incursion and he later brought technical expertise to the island, laying the foundation for Taiwan's modern industrial development, Guo added.

Shen also advocated making Taiwan a full province, with Taipei the capital in place of Tainan, turning the city into the island's political and economic center in the 1880s.

When Taiwan became a province, Fujian provided substantial financial aid, covering nearly half of Taiwan's budget for years to support infrastructure such as railway construction and the laying of telegraph lines. Fujian also transported materials by sea, helping Taiwan consolidate its coastal defenses and develop its economy.

To resist foreign aggression and consolidate coastal defenses, Shen had previously proposed the laying of a submarine cable between Fujian and Taiwan, but it was not implemented at the time. Taiwan's first governor, Liu Mingchuan, continued Shen's work, and the cable was successfully laid and put into use in 1887. This cable ran from Taiwan to Fuzhou, spanning a total length of 117 nautical miles, enabling information from Taiwan to be transmitted to the mainland almost instantly, playing a significant role in coastal defense efforts.

The signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895 resulted in Taiwan being ceded to Japan, marking the beginning of a shared history of resistance against Japanese colonial occupation and the struggle for the restoration of Taiwan to China.

Following the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), a large number of students and alumni from the Foochow Arsenal moved to Taiwan, dedicating themselves to the reconstruction of Taiwan's infrastructure, industry and agriculture.

"The destiny of the two sides was thus closely linked, jointly writing an epic saga of the Chinese nation's struggle," Guo said. "The bond has promoted a lot of exchanges."