Taiwan’s Kinmen leans toward China

[yuiyoshida]

CLEAR SENSE OF IDENTITY:A professor at National Quemoy University said that people in Kinmen are Fujianese, but are also part of the Republic of China


Anti-landing barricades are pictured on the coast of Lieyu Township, Kinmen County, on Sept. 8 last year.

Cold War detritus scars the white-sand beach on the island. Concrete barriers meant to halt invading tanks stand sentinel, waiting for an invasion that never came.

In the water, hundreds of rusting, sharpened steel barricades point menacingly toward the bustling Chinese city of Xiamen, whose skyscrapers poke through the midday haze a little more than 4.8km away.

The soldiers who manned the coastal defenses are long gone, though some have been replaced by life-size statues for the benefit of the many tourists who flock to the site. The most imminent danger now is to beachcombers who fail to pick up after their dogs. Signs warn they face a stiff fine: payable in New Taiwan dollars.

Kinmen County’s Lieyu Township , encompassing what is known as Lesser Kinmen Island, is not controlled by the People’s Republic of China, nor is the much larger Kinmen Island nearby, even though both sit on the approaches to one of China’s busiest ports.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2016/06/09/2003648237