Liu Mingchuan
During the Sino-French War, the French attempted an invasion of Taiwan during the Keelung Campaign in 1884. Liu Mingchuan, who was leading the defense of Taiwan, recruited Aboriginals to serve alongside the Chinese soldiers in fighting against the French. The French were defeated at the Battle of Tamsui and the Qing forces pinned the French down at Keelung in an eight-month-long campaign before the French withdrew. Because of these incursions, the Qing government began constructing a series of coastal defenses and in 1885, work commenced to make Taiwan a province, with Liu Mingchuan serving as the first governor. He divided Taiwan into eleven counties and tried to improve relations with the aborigines. He also developed a railway from Taipei to Hsinchu, established a mine in Keelung, and built an arsenal to improve Taiwan's defensive capability against foreigners.