Kinmen 金門縣 Quemoy
County
Flag Logo
Coordinates: 24°26′N 118°20′E / 24.44°N 118.33°E / 24.44; 118.33Coordinates: 24°26′N 118°20′E / 24.44°N 118.33°E / 24.44; 118.33
Country	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Province	Fukien (nominal subdivision)
Seat	Jincheng (Chincheng, Kincheng)
Largest city	Jincheng
Townships Villages	6 (3 urban, 3 rural) 37 (24 urban, 13 rural)
Government
• Body	Kinmen County Government Kinmen County Council
• County Magistrate	Chen Fu-hai
Area [1][a]
• Total	153.011 km2 (59.078 sq mi)
• Rank	20 of 22
Population  (December 2014)
• Total	127,723
• Rank	20 of 22
• Density	830/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Demonym	Kinmenese
Time zone	UTC+8 (National Standard Time)
ISO 3166 code	TW-KIN
Website	Official website
Symbols
Bird	Hoopoe
Flower	Four-season orchid
Tree	Cotton tree

Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly 10 km (6.2 mi) east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separated by Xiamen Bay. Kinmen is located 187 km (116 mi) west from the shoreline of the island of Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait.

The county consists of the major island of Kinmen along with several surrounding islets, as well as Wuqiu Township remotely located 133 km (83 mi) northeast from the rest of the county.^[2] Kinmen is one of two counties that constitutes Fujian Province, the other being Lienchiang County (Matsu).

Kinmen's strategic location in the Taiwan Strait has led to numerous confrontations, making it a tangible embodiment of political change on Cross-Strait relations. In August 1958, Kinmen was heavily bombarded by the People's Liberation Army during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. Travel restrictions between Kinmen and the main island of Taiwan were lifted in 1994 following the end of decades-long military administration over Kinmen. A direct ferry route to Xiamen was inaugurated in January 2001 following the establishment of the Three Links.^[3]

The People's Republic of China (PRC, China) claims Kinmen as part of its own Fujian Province and considers Wuqiu to be a separate territory of Fujian apart from Kinmen itself; conversely, the ROC claims the Dadeng Islands (Tateng) as part of Kinmen, even though the PRC has effectively transferred the jurisdiction of those islands to Xiamen.

Names

Jiangong Islet, with a Koxinga monument, in Kinmen Harbor

Kinmen (金門) means 'golden gate'. The name was first recorded in 1387 when the Hongwu Emperor appointed Zhou Dexing to administer the island and protect it from pirate attacks.^[4] The spelling "Kinmen" is a postal romanization.^[5] This transcription system is a variation of Nanking Syllabary, a system developed by Herbert Giles in 1892.^[6] It was adopted by the Chinese Imperial Post, part of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service led by Irishman Robert Hart. It is based on pronunciation in the Southern Mandarin, or Jianghuai, dialect. This dialect is widely spoken in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, including the city of Nanjing. The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs uses "Kinmen,"^[7] while the United States Board on Geographic Names gives "Kinmen Island."^[2]

Quemoy, pronounced /kɪˈmɔɪ/, is a name for the island in English and in other European languages.^[8] It may have originated as a Spanish or Portuguese transcription of the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation of the name, Kim-mûi.^[9] This is the most common form of the islands' name in English. For example, works that deal with the First and Second Taiwan Strait Crises (the Quemoy Incident^[10]) and the 1960 United States presidential election debates when the islands received prominent worldwide news coverage all use the word Quemoy. In addition, the former National Kinmen Institute of Technology was renamed National Quemoy University in 2010. Kinmen scholar Wei Jian-feng advocates the use of the word Quemoy to better connect the island to "international society or achieve more recognition in the world".^[9]

Jinmen is the island's name both in Tongyong Pinyin and in Hanyu Pinyin.^[11] Hanyu Pinyin is the international standard for transliterating Chinese.^[12] It was adopted by the Taiwanese government in 2009.^[13] Kimoi is a Hokkien-derived spelling also used in the postal romanization system.^[14][15] Chin-men is the Wade–Giles romanization of the island's name.

History

Kinmen Military Headquarters of Qing Dynasty

The slogan "Three Principles of the People unite China" written in Traditional Chinese (official script of ROC) is founded on Dadan Island facing Mainland China by General Zhao in Aug. 1986, depositioned after 1987 Lieyu massacre.

Humans have lived on Kinmen for 5,800 to 8,000 years.^[16] During the reign of Emperor Yuan (317 CE), the Five Barbarians invasion of China led six extended families to flee south and they settled in Kinmen, then called Wuzhou.^[16] More people settled there during the Tang dynasty, changing the name from Wuzhou to Kinmen.^[17]

During the Ming dynasty, more migrants settled in Kinmen. Koxinga used Kinmen as a base to capture Formosa and Penghu from the Dutch. He cut down trees to build his navy, resulting in massive deforestation that made Kinmen vulnerable to soil erosion.^[17]

Attack in Quemoy (1663)

The Prince of Lu, a member of the Southern Ming dynasty, resisted the invading Manchu Qing dynasty forces. In 1651, he fled to Kinmen, which the Qing dynasty took in 1663.^[18] During the Qing Dynasty, the Kinmen area was part of Tungan County.^[19][20]

After the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC) in 1912, Kinmen became part of Fujian Province. In 1913, the Kinmen area was made part of Siming County.^[20] Kinmen County was established in 1914.^[20][21] In 1928, the county came under direct administration of the provincial government.^[20]

The Empire of Japan captured Kinmen in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. They blockaded the island on September 3 and landed on October 23. Fighting was light with ROC forces fleeing rather than fighting. The only casualty was sustained by a local self-defense unit. Many of the residents fled to the mainland or to Southeast Asia. The purpose of the Japanese seizure of Kinmen was to use it as a position from which to attack the neighboring city of Xiamen which they would seize in May 1938. Following the seizure of Xiamen many of the locals who had fled there returned to Kinmen.^[22]

After the capture of the island the county government went into exile in Dadeng.^[19] The Japanese administered Kinmen as a special municipality of Xiamen, the government was composed of locals, people from other parts of occupied China, and Taiwanese.^[22]

A poor harvest in 1938 brought challenges for islanders. The Japanese engaged in economic development of the island including through the use of forced labor. KMT forces engaged in two serious attempts to retake the island and kept up a low level campaign against the Japanese. In 1943 insurgents kidnapped two Taiwanese officials who had been overseeing the salt fields and took them to China before executing them. In retaliation the Japanese authorities rounded up 300 young men from the local community eventually executing four.^[22]

Towards the end of WWII conditions worsened with Japanese authorities conscripting 500 locals (with their mules) into the military and confiscating household goods. The island came under allied bombing including one attack on Aug. 30, 1944 which killed 19 locals.^[22]

WWII ended in Aug. 15, 1945 with the surrender of Japan. Following the end of the war there were attacks by locals against Taiwanese who took shelter with the Japanese garrison. Kinmen was effectively ungoverned until Oct. 3, 1945 when ROC forces landed and installed a new government. A celebration on Oct. 10 marked the end of hostilities. Locals who had survived the war following their conscription by the Japanese were treated as traitors by the KMT occupation authorities.^[22]

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) by the Chinese Communists in October 1949, Kinmen County was claimed by both the Nationalists and the Communists. Dadeng, Xiaodeng and Jiaoyu were taken by the Communists on 9 October^[21] or 15 October,^[23] 1949. While those islands are still claimed by the ROC,^[24] they are governed as part of Dadeng Subdistrict, Xiang'an District, Xiamen, Fujian, China.^[25][26]

On 25 October 1949, People's Liberation Army (PLA) forces landed on Kinmen Island near Guningtou beginning the Battle of Kuningtou. ROC forces successfully defended the island and prevented an attack on Taiwan.

At the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, retired Admiral Charles M. Cooke Jr., advisor to President Chiang Kai-shek, opposed withdrawing ROC forces from Quemoy (Kinmen).^[27] On 26 July 1950, ROC forces on Dadan Island (Tatan), in total 298 soldiers, repulsed an attack (大擔島戰役) from a People's Liberation Army force of 700 soldiers that landed on the island.^{[28]: 11, 19–20} General Douglas MacArthur and other US officials supported ROC efforts to defend the islands.^[29]

Map including most of the territory of Kinmen County (AMS, 1954)

The PLA extensively shelled the island during the First and Second Taiwan Strait crises in 1954–1955 and 1958 respectively. In 1954, the United States considered responding by using nuclear weapons against the PRC.^[30] Again in 1958, General Nathan Farragut Twining and the Joint Chiefs of Staff believed that the United States should not permit the loss of the islands to the communists and recommended to President Eisenhower the use of whatever force was necessary, including atomic weapons.^[31]

The phrase "Quemoy and Matsu" became part of American political language in the 1960 U.S. presidential election. During the debates, both candidates, Vice-President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy, pledged to use American forces if necessary to protect Taiwan from invasion by the PRC, which the United States did not recognize as a legitimate government. But in the second debate on 7 October 1960, the two candidates presented different opinions about whether to use American forces to protect Taiwan's forward positions, Quemoy and Matsu, also. Senator Kennedy stated that these islands – as little as 9 kilometres (5.5 mi) off the coast of China and as much as 170 kilometres (106 mi) from Taiwan – were strategically indefensible and were not essential to the defense of Taiwan. Vice-President Nixon maintained that since Quemoy and Matsu were in the "area of freedom," they should not be surrendered to the Communists as a matter of principle.^[32]

Earlier in the debate, then-Vice President Nixon mentioned:^[33][34]

In the Truman Administration 600 million people went behind the Iron Curtain including the satellite countries of Eastern Europe and Communist China. In this Administration we have stopped them at Quemoy and Matsu, we have stopped them in Indo China, we have stopped them in Lebanon, we have stopped them in other parts of the world.

Later in the debate, Edward P. Morgan asked then-Senator Kennedy:^{[33][35][36][37]}

Senator, Saturday on television, you said that you had always thought that Quemoy and Matsu were unwise places to draw our defense line in the Far East. Would you comment further on that, and also address to this question: couldn't a pull-back from those islands be interpreted as appeasement?

Chin-men Tao (Quemoy Island, Greater Kinmen), Lieh Hsü (Lesser Kinmen), Tung-ting Hsü (Dongding Island), Wu-ch'iu Hsü (Daqiu), and Hsia Hsü (Xiaoqiu)
"The Nationalist-held islands off the Chinese mainland are nominally a part of Fukien Province, but are presently under military administration." (1962)

Then-Senator Kennedy responded to Morgan's question saying:^{[33][34][35][36]}

Well, the United States has on occasion attempted, mostly in the middle '50s to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to pull his troops back to Formosa. I believe strongly in the defense of Formosa. These islands are a few miles, five or six miles^[b] off the coast of Red China within a general harbor area, and more than a hundred miles^[c] from Formosa. We have never said flatly that we will defend Quemoy and Matsu if it is attacked. We say we will defend it if it's part of a general attack on Formosa, but it is extremely difficult to make that judgment.
Now, Mr. Herter, in 1958, when he was Under Secretary of State, said they were strategically indefensible. Admiral Spruance and Collins in 1955 said that we should not attempt to defend these islands in their conference on the Far East. General Ridgway has said the same thing. I believe that when you get into a war, if you're going to get into a war for the defense of Formosa, it ought to be on a clearly defined line. One of the problems, I think, at the time of South Korea was the question of whether the United States would defend it if it were attacked. I believe that we should defend Formosa, we should come to its defense. It leaves this rather in the air that we will defend it under some conditions but not under others, I think it is a mistake.
Secondly, I would not suggest a withdrawal at the point of the Communist guns. It is a decision finally that the Nationalists should make and I believe that we should consult with them and attempt to work out a plan by which the line is drawn at the Island of Formosa. It leaves 100 miles^[d] between the sea. But with General Ridgway, Mr. Herter, General Collins, Admiral Spruance and many others, I think it is unwise to take the chance of being dragged into a war which may lead to a world war over two islands which are not strategically defensible, which are not according to their testimony, essential to the defense of Formosa.
I think that we should protect our commitments. I believe strongly we should do so in Berlin. I believe strongly we should do so in Formosa and I believe we should meet our commitments to every country whose security we've guaranteed. But I do not believe that that line, in case of a war, should be drawn on those islands, but instead on the island of Formosa. And as long as they are not essential to the defense of Formosa, it has been my judgement ever since 1954, at the time of the Eisenhower Doctrine for the Far East, that our line should be drawn in the sea around the island itself.

Then-Vice President Nixon retorted:^[33][34][36]

I disagree completely with Senator Kennedy on this point.
I remember in the period immediately before the Korean War, South Korea was supposed to be indefensible as well. Generals testified to that, and Secretary Acheson made a very famous speech at the Press Club early in the year that the Korean War started, indicating in effect that South Korea was beyond the defense zone of the United States. I suppose it was hoped when he made that speech that we wouldn't get into a war, but it didn't mean that. We had to go in when they came in.
Now I think as far as Quemoy and Matsu are concerned, that the question is not these two little pieces of real estate- they are unimportant. It isn't the few people who live on them- they are not too important. It's the principle involved. These two islands are in the area of freedom. The Nationalists have these two islands. We should not force our Nationalist allies to get off of them and give them to the Communists. If we do that, we start a chain reaction, because the Communists aren't after Quemoy and Matsu, they're after Formosa. In my opinion, this is the same kind of woolly thinking that lead to disaster for America in Korea, I'm against it, I would never tolerate it as President of the United States, and I will hope that Senator Kennedy will change his mind if he should be elected.

Kinmen in the map on the obverse of the Commemorative NT$10 Coin in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Taiwan's Retrocession (1995)

After the third debate on 13 October 1960, Kennedy's advisers spoke with then Secretary of State Herter and said Kennedy was willing to revise his position on the Quemoy and Matsu issue so as not to give the Communists the impression that the USA would not stand united against aggression. Nixon pointed out the change in Kennedy's position but decided not to press the point due to the importance of the USA's role in what was an extremely tense situation.^[38] Nixon's polls among Republicans and Democrats showed overwhelming support for Nixon's position on the issue.^[39]

Kinmen was originally a military reserve under the Martial Law curfews, which eventually led to the tragedies of innocent civilian casualties,^[40] such as the 1985 Shi Islet Slaughter and 1987 Lieyu massacre.^[41][42][43] The island was returned to the civilian government in the mid-1990s, after which travel to and from it was allowed. Direct travel between mainland China and Kinmen re-opened in January 2001 under the mini Three Links, and there has been extensive tourism development on the island in anticipation of mainland tourists.^[44] Direct travel was suspended in 2003 as a result of the SARS outbreak, but has since resumed.^{[45][full citation needed]}

Many Taiwanese businessmen use the link through Kinmen to enter the Chinese mainland, seeing it as cheaper and easier than entering through Hong Kong. However, this changed following the 2005 Pan–Blue visits to mainland China and the 2008 presidential and legislative victories of the KMT, that allowed easier cross-Strait relations. Kinmen has experienced a considerable economic boom as businessmen relocate to the island for easier access to the vast markets of the PRC.

On 30 June 2014, Dadan Island and Erdan Island were handed over from the military to civilians, represented by Kinmen County Government.^[46] Since 1 January 2015, tourists from Mainland China could directly apply for the Exit and Entry Permit upon arrival in Kinmen. This privilege also applies to Penghu and Matsu Islands as means to boost tourism in the outlying islands of Taiwan.^[47]

On 23 August 2019, the sixty-first anniversary of the beginning of the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, President Tsai Ing-wen visited the Taiwushan Martyrs' Shrine (太武山忠烈祠) in Mount Taiwu where she placed flowers and offered incense.^[48]

Geography

Wuqiu Lighthouse in Wuqiu, Kinmen

The county is made up of numerous islands and islets^{[49][50][20][51]} including:

• Kinmen group^[52]
  • Kinmen (Kinmen, Main island; 大金門, 金門本島) (main island; divided into four townships)
  • Dongding Island (Tangtia, Tungting 東碇島, 東椗島) (in Jinhu Township; approximately 35 km (22 mi) to the southwest)
  • Beiding Island (北碇島) (in Jinhu Township; approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) to the east)
  • Cao Islet (Ts'ao Hsü; 草嶼) (in Jinsha Township) 24°31′24″N 118°26′13″E / 24.523335°N 118.437021°E / 24.523335; 118.437021
  • Hou Islet (后嶼) (in Jinsha Township) 24°31′45″N 118°24′44″E / 24.529171°N 118.41233°E / 24.529171; 118.41233
  • Jiangong Islet (建功嶼) (in Jincheng Township)
  • Lesser Kinmen (Hsiao Kinmen, Lieyu; 小金門, 烈嶼) (second largest island under ROC control; in Lieyu Township)
  • Dadan Island (大膽島) (in Lieyu Township)
  • Erdan Island (二膽島) (in Lieyu Township)
  • Fuxing Islet (Fuhsing Islet; Phaktia) (復興嶼) (in Lieyu Township)
  • Menghu Islet (Tiger Island, 猛虎嶼) (in Lieyu Township)
  • Shi Islet (Lion Islet) (獅嶼) (in Lieyu Township)
  • Binlang Islet (檳榔嶼) (in Lieyu Township)
  • Dadeng (Tateng^[53][54][55]) (大嶝^[24][1][56]/大嶝島^[23]) (under PRC control from 9 October^[21] or 15 October 1949;^[23] part of Dadeng Subdistrict, Xiang'an District, Xiamen, Fujian^[25][26])
  • Xiaodeng (Hsiaoteng,^[55] Siao Deng^[57]) (小嶝^[24][1][56]/小嶝島^[23]) (under PRC control from 9 October^[21] or 15 October 1949;^[23] part of Dadeng Subdistrict, Xiang'an District, Xiamen, Fujian^[25][26])
  • Jiaoyu^[58]/Jiao Yu^[59] (Chiao I.,^[60] 角嶼^{[24][1][56][23]}) (under PRC control from 9 October^[21] or 15 October 1949;^[23] part of Dadeng Subdistrict, Xiang'an District, Xiamen, Fujian^[25][26])
• Wuqiu (Ockseu, Wuchiu; 烏坵) group
  • Daqiu (Tachiu, Taciou; 大坵) (in Wuqiu Township)
  • Xiaoqiu (Hsiaochiu; 小坵) (in Wuqiu Township)

Climate

Climate data for Kinmen
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	27.0 (80.6)	25.5 (77.9)	28.1 (82.6)	31.6 (88.9)	32.7 (90.9)	38.4 (101.1)	39.1 (102.4)	36.3 (97.3)	36.7 (98.1)	34.0 (93.2)	31.0 (87.8)	26.6 (79.9)	39.1 (102.4)
Average high °C (°F)	16.8 (62.2)	16.5 (61.7)	18.8 (65.8)	22.8 (73.0)	25.8 (78.4)	29.3 (84.7)	31.9 (89.4)	32.0 (89.6)	31.6 (88.9)	27.4 (81.3)	23.5 (74.3)	19.5 (67.1)	24.6 (76.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	12.7 (54.9)	12.9 (55.2)	15.0 (59.0)	19.1 (66.4)	23.1 (73.6)	26.1 (79.0)	28.2 (82.8)	28.2 (82.8)	26.8 (80.2)	23.5 (74.3)	19.4 (66.9)	15.5 (59.9)	20.8 (69.4)
Average low °C (°F)	10.0 (50.0)	10.1 (50.2)	12.2 (54.0)	16.2 (61.2)	20.6 (69.1)	23.8 (74.8)	25.8 (78.4)	25.7 (78.3)	24.3 (75.7)	20.7 (69.3)	16.5 (61.7)	12.5 (54.5)	18.2 (64.8)
Record low °C (°F)	1.3 (34.3)	3.6 (38.5)	3.0 (37.4)	9.0 (48.2)	15.0 (59.0)	18.0 (64.4)	20.0 (68.0)	22.4 (72.3)	17.5 (63.5)	13.0 (55.4)	11.0 (51.8)	3.8 (38.8)	1.3 (34.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	22.1 (0.87)	53.9 (2.12)	69.7 (2.74)	111.02 (4.37)	180.3 (7.10)	156.9 (6.18)	124.1 (4.89)	139.5 (5.49) Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Quemoy >Text je dostupný pod licencí Creative Commons Uveďte autora – Zachovejte licenci, případně za dalších podmínek. Podrobnosti naleznete na stránce Podmínky užití. Zdroj: Wikipedia.org - čítajte viac o Quemoy Navigace: Módní doplňky > Šperkařství Šperky Chytré hodinky Galanterie Hodinářské firmy Hodinky Hodiny Módní doplňky Minerály Pokrývky hlavy Sklářství Zlatníci Zlatnictví Příbuzné výrazy : Řetízek (ozdoba) Šátek Beadweaving Bižuterie Bolo Dřevěný motýlek Deštník Digitálky Fiží Galanterie Hodinky Kšandy Kapesník Korálek Kravata Lanyard Modista Motýlek (oděvní doplněk) Odznak Pléd Placka (odznak) Rukávník Spona na kravatu Sponka do vlasů Tabulky (kolárek) Vějíř Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších podmienok. Podrobnejšie informácie nájdete na stránke Podmienky použitia. Copyright.sk © 2024