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Abstract Taiwan Expedition in 1874 was the beginning of Japan's invasion of China in modern times. Scholars pay attention to the significance of the press opinion on this incident， but much less is known about its overall appearance and historical trend. This study investigates the press opinion about the incident through an in-depth examination of various newspapers and periodicals， and reveals that the situation of public opinion can be described as follows： Japanese newspapers mostly held aggressive views， regarded invasion to Taiwan as a righteous act and advocated colonial aggression， while the Chinese press refuted the wrong ideas in many ways. They not only refuted Japan's claims of the ownerless Fan Area and on-the-spot inspection， exposed Japan's lies of obtaining the consent of the Qing government， but also refuted the improper remarks of outsiders， such as the claim of joint suppression. The English press maintained a relatively complicated standpoint. At the beginning， English newspapers published in Japan opposed the invasion， while English newspapers published in China supported it. When Japan's military act in Taiwan came to an end， the English newspapers in both places turned to stand by Japan.
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Received: 26 July 2019
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2019, Vol. 58 
