SHIMONOSEKI, TREATY OF

(April 17, 1895), agreement that concluded the first Sino-Japanese War (189495), which ended in China's defeat. China was obliged to recognize the independence of Korea, over which it had traditionally held suzerainty; to cede Taiwan, the Pescadores Islands, and the Liaotung (south Manchurian) Peninsula to Japan; to pay an indemnity of 200,000,000 taels to Japan; and to open the ports of Sha-shih, Ch'ung-ch'ing, Soochow, and K'ang-chow to Japanese trade. The Triple Intervention (1895), secured by Russia, France, and Germany, subsequently required Japan to retrocede the Liaotung Peninsula to China in return for an additional indemnity of 30,000,000 taels.