KINMEN - "From here, you can give China a personal greeting," said a colonel in the Taiwanese military, as he raised his middle finger and pointed it westward toward the Chinese mainland.
"Oh, and don't write about that," he added, laughing nervously. His name and unit are being withheld to keep the officer in good standing with his superiors, who might share his sentiments, but who act with decorum.
The colonel was speaking from the Mashan Military Observation Post on Kinmen (also called Jinmen or Quemoy) Island, only 1.8 kilometers away from Chinese territory. Kinmen is controlled by Taiwan and is part of Fujian province.The island hosts about 10,000 Taiwanese military personnel, and it was long considered the "frontline" in the simmering conflict between China and Taiwan. And the conflict is still simmering - by no means is it cooling down.
A geopolitical environment that is far removed from the Cold War days of the Chiang Kai-shek regime, coupled with advancements in military technology have made the island more useful for the production of gaoliang (a sorghum-based liquor) than for staving off an invasion by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Asia Times
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore