Zhang held on a strong opinion on the issue of ceding Taiwan to the Japanese, per the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki that ended the First Sino-Japanese War. In late February 1895, he made his stance clear to the Qing government, and even offered ideas on how to prevent the loss of Taiwan. He suggested that they take huge loans from the British, who would in turn send their navy to defend Taiwan from the Japanese. In addition, he proposed giving mining rights to the British on Taiwan for about 10 to 20 years. In May 1895, the Qing government ordered all civil and military officials to evacuate Taiwan. Zhang also refused to provide aid to the remaining Qing forces in Taiwan, especially after the fall of Keelung and with Taipei as the sole remaining Qing stronghold in Taiwan. On 19 October 1895, the last of the Qing forces in Taiwan, led by Liu Yongfu, withdrew to Xiamen.