Taiwan was briefly a Republic in 1895

Shortly after the annexation of Taiwan by Japan in 1895, there was little resistance on the part of the Qing courts, partly because of fears over Japanese reprisals as well as setbacks in negotiations over the ceding of the Liaotung Peninsula.

But within Taiwan, then Governor Tang Ching-sung and his aides had reportedly taken advantage of the situation to carry on anti-Japanese resistance under an island regime labeled the "Taiwan Republic".

The desperate act of forming a Republic was described as an attempt to delay a Japanese occupation, so that one of the western powers, France in particular, "might be prompted to come to the defense of Taiwan or be induced to take possession of the island in lieu of Japan." (Murray A. Rubinstein, Taiwan: A New History)

Said to have established amid a festive atmosphere, the Republic vanished from the scene just 12 days later.

Would this short-lived attempt at republicanism be considered the shortest in world history?