List of battles over Quemoy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu

The Genyin Emperor was Emperor of Southern Ming Dynasty, reigning from 1645 to 1655. His temple name was Ming Yizong .-Biography:...

was part of the Southern Ming Dynasty

Southern Ming Dynasty

The Southern Ming Dynasty was the Ming loyalist regime that continued in Southern China from 1644 to 1662 following the capture of Beijing by rebel armies and the death of the last Ming emperor in 1644....

, resisting the invading Manchu Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

forces. In 1651 he fled to Kinmen

Kinmen

Kinmen , also known as Quemoy , is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China : Greater Kinmen, Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of Fujian Province, ROC. The county is claimed by the People's Republic of China as part of its...

, in 1663 Kinmen was taken by the invaders.

The mainland Chinese city of Xiamen

Xiamen

Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...

is within shelling distance of the small islands of Kinmen

Kinmen

. As one of the front line islands between the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

and the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, ROC-governed Kinmen

Kinmen

has seen many battles and tensions between the two throughout the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. It was generally understood by both the ROC and the PRC that if Kinmen fell to the PRC, Taiwan itself would follow.

The phrase "Quemoy (Kinmen) and Matsu

Matsu Islands

The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...

" became part of U.S. politics in the 1960 Presidential election. During the debates, both candidates, Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

and John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

pledged to use U.S. force if necessary to protect the Republic of China

Republic of China

from invasion from the mainland, the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

, which the U.S. did not recognize as a legitimate government at the time. Vice-President Nixon charged that Senator Kennedy would not use U.S. force to protect Taiwan's forward positions, Kinmen and Matsu.

List of battles over Kinmen:

Battle of Guningtou (1949)
First Taiwan Strait Crisis
First Taiwan Strait Crisis
The First Taiwan Strait Crisis was a short armed conflict that took place between the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China . The PRC seized the Yijiangshan Islands, forcing the ROC to abandon the Tachen Islands...

(1954-1955)
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China governments in which the PRC shelled the islands of Matsu and Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to seize them from...

(1958)

After the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis ended in stalemate, both sides settled upon a routine of bombarding each other every other day with shells containing propaganda leaflets. ROC troops on the island continued constructing tunnels, bunkers, and other underground facilities. Commandos (often known as 水鬼, or "water ghosts" by ROC troops) were sent by both sides to conduct sabotage or attack lone sentries. The bombardment finally ended in 1979 with the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and the PRC.

External links

Kinmen National Park
GlobalSecurity.org page on Taiwan
ROC Ministry of National Defense: War History (in Chinese)
PRC Government portal (in Chinese)
ROC Tourism Bureau article on Kuningtou (in Chinese)
United Daily News article (in Chinese)

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