Kinmen - WikiHQ

Geology

Kinmen, much like the surrounding Chinese mainland, is predominantly composed of Cretaceous aged granite, with lesser amounts of Eocene-Oligocene sandstone, Miocene basalt and Pleistocene-Holocene conglomerate. The thickness of the sediments varies from 150 metres in the west to only a few metres in the east.

Demographics

Culture

left|thumb|Artillery shells fired by the People's Liberation Army to Kinmen in the 1950s

thumb|A [[shisa (wind-lion god) carving in Kinmen]]

The people of Kinmen see themselves as Kinmenese, Mínnánrén/Mǐnnánrén (people of Southern Fujian), or Chinese. They identify as citizens of the Republic of China but not so much as Taiwanese. Kinmen's strong Chinese identity was forged during the period of the ROC's military confrontation with the People's Republic of China (1949–1992) when Kinmen was under military administration.

Language

Many of the county's inhabitants speak Hokkien; the Quanzhou accent is predominant. Most residents will say they speak Kinmenese, which is mutually intelligible with Taiwanese Hokkien. The residents of Wuchiu Township speak Pu-Xian Min, a different Chinese language.

Others

Kinmen is notable for a number of cultural products. Due to the extensive shelling by the People's Liberation Army in the 1950s, Kinmen is famous for its artillery shell knives. Local artisans would collect the vast amounts of exploded ordnance and make high-quality knives which are still sought after by chefs and connoisseurs. Kinmen is also home of the regionally famous Kinmen Kaoliang liquor, a spirit ranging between 38 and 63 percent alcohol, which is highly appreciated by the Taiwanese. Other local culinary specialties include , ' and beef jerky (bakkwa).

Like the Ryukyus, Kinmen is known for shisa (wind-lion god) figures (風獅爺).

Cinema

During the martial law era, Kinmen was home to several cinemas that were popular gathering places for soldiers stationed on the island. Today, however, none of these historic movie theatres remain in operation.

Kinmen-born filmmaker Dong Cheng-Liang has devoted much of his work to portraying the island and its history. In 1994, he directed Every Odd Numbered Day (單打雙不打), which was the first movie directed by a local Kinmenese, also much of the cast was from Kinmen. More recently, Dong transformed his ancestral home in the village of Gugang into the Kinmen Cinema Museum (金門電影館), preserving the island’s cinematic heritage.

Military

Kinmen is home to the ROC Army’s 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion also known as the ROC Army Frogman, whose main headquarter is garrisoned on Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣). As of 2024, United States soldiers visited the islands.

Economy

Kinmen's economy is mainly based on tourism and services due to its proximity to mainland China.

Tourism

thumb|left|The [[Juguang Tower ("Brightness of Ju"), a famous landmark in Kinmen]]

Because of its military importance, development on the island was extremely limited. Only by 2003, Kinmen opened up itself to tourists from Fujian in Mainland China. It is now a popular weekend tourist destination for Taiwanese and is known for its quiet villages, old-style architecture and beaches. Chinese and Taiwanese tour groups also spend a short time touring the island whilst transiting between the ferry and the airport, as an intermediate stop between China and Taiwan. Large parts of Kinmen form the Kinmen National Park which highlights military fortifications and structures, historical dwellings and natural scenery.

The year 2014 recorded the highest number of passengers traveling by ferry between Kinmen and Fujian ports for as many as 1.5 million people. Since 1 January 2015, Chinese mainland tourists were no longer required to apply for Exit and Entry Permit in advance for visits to Kinmen, Penghu and Matsu Islands. Instead, they can apply for it upon arrival at a cost of NT$600.

By 2016, two infrastructure projects are expected to boost tourism and meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions visitors to the islands. One includes a yet-to-be-named five-star resort spearheaded by Xiamen property developer, Wu Youhua, president of Xiamen Huatian Group, the first time a Chinese interest has been allowed to invest in the Taiwanese hotel sector.

According to local authorities in Kinmen, they had recorded over 745,000 tourists from mainland China in 2018, who had collectively spent over 360 million dollars during that year.

Tourist attractions

thumb|[[Zhaishan Tunnel]]

Tourist-related affairs in Kinmen are governed by Transportation and Tourism Bureau of Kinmen County Government. Major tourist attractions in Kinmen are:

Imported goods

Kinmen often import more goods from Mainland China than Taiwan Island because of lower costs due to the proximity of the county to the mainland. During the campaign for the 2014 county magistrate, all of the magistrate candidates spent their money on campaign materials produced in mainland provinces, such as Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian instead of from Taiwan Island.

Politics

thumb|[[Chen Fu-hai, the incumbent Magistrate of Kinmen County]]

The island consistently votes for the Kuomintang (KMT). Until the early 1990s, proponents of Taiwan independence argued that they would consider handing Kinmen over to the PRC in any negotiated settlement. Residents of the island have broadly opposed such measures.

The Democratic Progressive Party has a minor presence on the island and typically does not present candidates to stand in local elections, although it does hold a single seat in Kinmen County Council from both of the 2009 and 2014 local elections. However, the party occasionally lends support to liberal or center-left candidates.

On 29 November 2014, independent candidate Chen Fu-hai won the county magistrate election and took office as the Magistrate of Kinmen County on 25 December 2014, the first independent candidate to win the office. He replaced Magistrate Lee Wo-shih of the Kuomintang. The 2014 Kinmen County magistrate election consisted of 10 candidates, the highest number of nominated candidates in the electoral history of Taiwan.

Kinmen County Constituency is represented by a single seat in the Legislative Yuan. It is currently represented by Chen Yu-chen () of the Kuomintang. The current majority seats of Kinmen County Council is from independent, but headed by speaker Hung Yun-tien () of the Kuomintang. The incumbent Magistrate of Kinmen County is independent Chen Fu-hai.

Townships

thumb|Subdivision of Kinmen County into townships

thumb|[[Kinmen County Government]]

thumb|[[Kinmen County Council]]

thumb|[[Jincheng, Kinmen|Jincheng Township, the county seat of Kinmen]]

Kinmen County is divided into three urban townships and three rural townships. Jincheng Township is the county seat which houses Kinmen County Government and Kinmen County Council. The township also houses the headquarter office of Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center. Kinmen County has the fewest rural townships among other counties in Taiwan.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Name !! Chinese !! Hanyu Pinyin !! Wade–Giles !! Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī !! English meaning

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="6"|Urban townships

| Jincheng Township || 金城鎮 || || Chin¹-ch'eng² Chen⁴ || Kim-siâⁿ-tìn || 'Golden City'

| Jinhu Township || 金湖鎮 || || Chin¹-hu² Chen⁴ || Kim-ô͘-tìn || 'Golden Lake'

| Jinsha Township || 金沙鎮 || || Chin¹-sha¹ Chen⁴|| Kim-soa-tìn || 'Gold Dust'

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="6"|Rural townships

| Jinning Township || 金寧鄉 || || Chin¹-ning² Hsiang¹ || Kim-lêng-hiong || 'Golden Tranquility'

| Lieyu Township || 烈嶼鄉 || || Lie⁴-yü³ Hsiang¹ || Lia̍t-sū-hiong || 'Split-off Islet'

| Wuqiu Township || 烏坵鄉 || || Wu¹-ch'iu¹ Hsiang¹ || O͘-khiu-hiong || 'Black Mound'

All those townships on Greater Kinmen Island start their names with Jin (i.e., Kin, lit. "gold"). Lieyu Township encompasses the entire Lesser Kinmen Island, and is the closest to Xiamen. Wuqiu Township comprises Greater Qiu Islet () and Lesser Qiu Islet ().

Jincheng and Jinsha are the largest of the six townships. Altogether, there are 37 villages in Kinmen County.

Cross-Strait relations

In the controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has continuously claimed the territory of Kinmen County as part of its own Fujian Province, claiming the Kinmen Islands as a county of Quanzhou prefecture-level city. The PRC claims the Wuqiu (Ockseu) Islands as part of Xiuyu District in Putian prefecture-level city. Taiwan (Republic of China) claims the Dadeng (Tateng) Islands in Dadeng Subdistrict, Xiang'an District, Xiamen, Fujian as part of Kinmen County.

Education

thumb|[[National Quemoy University]]

In August 2010, National Quemoy University was established from the predecessor National Kinmen Institute of Technology and Kinmen Division of National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences established in 1997. It is located in Jinning Township. The islands also have a satellite campuses of Ming Chuan University and National University of Kaohsiung. Secondary educational institutions include National Kinmen Senior High School and National Kinmen Agricultural and Industrial Vocational Senior High School. In total, there are 24 junior high schools, elementary schools and kindergartens.

The Kinmen County Government have invested millions in education in Kinmen, with an average of NT$20,000 per student. Schools in the county also accept the growing number of Taiwanese students whose parents are doing business in Fujian, China. The county government has been striving to encourage universities in Taiwan and China to set up branches in the county, as well as to attract Chinese students to study in Kinmen.

Infrastructure

left|thumb|[[Tashan Power Plant]]

Electricity

The Kinmen Power Company was founded in 1967 and gradually built five power plants in the county and is in charge of providing power resources to all residents in Kinmen. It used to rely on light diesel oil which created high cost burden to its management. Since 1992, the ROC central government approved the power company to authorize Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) for five-year management. All of the power development projects were invested by Taipower and helped the region economic development. In July 1997, Kinmen Power Company was officially incorporated to Taipower. In 1999, the diesel-fired Tashan Power Plant was built to supply electricity to Kinmen grid. The other smaller power plants were subsequently discontinued to reduce cost.

Submarine telecommunication cable

In August 2012, Kinmen and Xiamen established the first submarine telecommunication cable between the two sides. On Taiwan side, the infrastructure was constructed by Chunghwa Telecom, while on mainland China's side was done by China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile. The project began in 1996 and took 16 years to build.

The telecommunication system consists of two cables, one is an long cable that runs from Kinmen's Lake Tzu and Xiamen's Mount Guanyin, and the other is a long cable that runs from Guningtou on Greater Kinmen Island (ROC) to Dadeng Island (PRC). The system is a non-repeater system with a bilateral transmission capacity of 90 Gbit/s, which might be expanded in the future if demand arises.

For decades, Kinmen has been facing difficulties in water supply to its residents due to its shallow lakes, lack of rainfall and geographical constraints which makes building reservoirs and dams unfeasible. Therefore, Kinmen often overuses its groundwater, causing rising tidal flood and soil salinity.

In early September 2013, the People's Republic of China government agreed to supply Kinmen with water from Jinjiang City in Fujian due to the ongoing water shortage problem in Kinmen. Kinmen draws more than 8,000 tonnes of groundwater every day and water from its reservoir is barely enough to support the residents during the dry season. It was judged that a shortage would affect the local economy badly if no mitigation plan was enacted by 2016. The water supply agreement was officially signed on 20 July 2015 in Kinmen between Kinmen County Waterworks Director Weng Wen-kuei () and Fujian Water Supply Co chairman Zhu Jinliang () witnessed by Kinmen County Magistrate Chen Fu-hai and Fujian Province Governor Su Shulin.

The Jinjiang–Kinmen Pipeline was officially opened on 5 August 2018 when it first started supplying water, and was celebrated by separate ceremonies held in both Kinmen County and Jinjiang City in mainland China.

Transport

left|thumb|[[Kinmen Airport]]

thumb|[[Shuitou Pier]]

Air

Kinmen is served by Kinmen Airport, a domestic airport located at Jinhu Township, connecting Kinmen with Penghu Airport, Penghu and Taipei Songshan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Chiayi and Tainan Airport on Taiwan.

Sea

People coming from China can also travel to Kinmen via ferry from Xiamen's Wutong Ferry Terminal or Quanzhou, arriving at Shuitou Pier in Jincheng Township. Foreigner passport holders are permitted to use either service.

A new commercial port has been built on newly reclaimed land adjacent to the Shuitou Pier. The new port will handle the majority of sea freight to and from Kinmen. Previously, most of this traffic was handled by a smaller port in Jinhu Township, on the southeast corner of the island. In the past, due to constant artillery shelling from China, an underground port at the Zhaishan Tunnel was used to supply the island in times of conflict. It has since been decommissioned and converted into a tourist attraction.

Road

A bridge, the Kinmen Bridge, connecting Kinmen Island (Greater Kinmen) and Lieyu was completed in October 2022, estimated to cost NT$7.5 billion (US$250 million). It is expected to increase local tourism.

In October 2019, China announced a plan to build a bridge linking Xiamen to Kinmen. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said that the plans were made unilaterally by China as part of its schemes to absorb Taiwan and divide Taiwanese society, and that they see no need for bridges linking either Matsu or Kinmen to China.

Gallery

File:Wuwangzaiju.JPG|Calligraphy by former President Chiang Kai-shek etched on Wu-Wang-Zai-Ju Inscribed Rock

File:遍布反登陆桩的上林海滩 - Anti-landing Spikes on Shanglin Coast - 2014.09 - panoramio.jpg|Anti-landing spikes on Lesser Kinmen (Lieyu) near Shi Islet with Xiamen (Amoy) in the background

File:Shuitou historical residence 水頭古厝 - panoramio.jpg|Shuitou historical residence ()

File:Jincheng - Daitianfu - DSCF9406.JPG|Daitianfu () in Jincheng

</gallery>

Notes

References

External links and further reading

Complete list of the villages in each township
Kinmen Island: China without the Communism?
On A Rural Taiwanese Island, Modern China Beckons, NPR (11 September 2016)
Pictures : Taiwan on China's shores. Reuters.
Satellite image of Greater Kinmen and Lesser Kinmen by Google Maps
Michael Szonyi, Cold War Island: Quemoy on the Front Line, Cambridge University Press (11 August 2008), hardcover, 328 pages, ; trade paperback, 328 pages, ,