In Taiwan’s sleepy Kinmen islands, which have been described as the frontline of any potential conflict between Beijing and Taipei, the mood is far from warlike. From their sandy shores, the glistening skyscrapers of Xiamen, a Chinese coastal city just three miles away, are a winking reminder of the wealth and security that Beijing promises to deliver to Kinmen should
Taiwan and China be unified.
But as politicians in Taipei debate the likelihood of armed conflict with Beijing, which wants to unify
China and Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force to do so, the Taiwanese citizens of Kinmen see a past and future that is inextricably linked with the superpower next door.
While the politicians consider the options for strengthening Taiwan’s defences, on Kinmen local officials are discussing a controversial plan to build a bridge to Xiamen that would see barriers to China reduced rather than enhanced.
The Kinmen archipelago has been governed from Taipei since the nationalist KMT party, defeated by the communists in China’s civil war, retreated to Taiwan in 1949. During the two Taiwan Strait crises of the 1950s, the islands were heavily shelled by the People’s Liberation Army.
But now the bombs have stopped falling and the artillery shells are turned into kitchen knives for tourists. The anti-landing barricades that dot the beaches facing China are rusting. “Our culture and history are already very connected. Kinmen people don’t feel threatened by China,” says Zhou Xiaoyun, who is running to be a local councillor for the Taiwan People’s party (TPP).
Proposal to create demilitarised zone on Kinmen islands reflects feeling that close ties with Beijing are inevitable
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