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In Taiwan right now, I was surprised how close some Taiwan-controlled islands are to the mainland. Kinmen is just 10km away[1]. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wik
by yellow_lead 4y ago
In Taiwan right now, I was surprised how close some Taiwan-controlled islands are to the mainland. Kinmen is just 10km away[1].
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinmen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinmen
- gspr 4y agoWow, thanks for this! I had absolutely no idea either.
- ethbr0 4y agoWikipedia has a great map [0] and 1960s context [1] on Quemoy and Matsu. Broadly speaking, the ROC controlled them, the CCP attempted to seize them [2] in the 1950s, and the US threatened involvement (including nuclear). Then everyone settled down to just lobbing artillery at each other. In modern times, they're more of a symbol than an asset, in that if the CCP made moves to seize them, the US would assume an invasion of Taiwan was imminent, and bad things would ensure for everyone. Consequently, the CCP has no real reason to care about them until they're also willing to invade the main island of Taiwan. [0] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Nationalist_China_-_administrative_divisons._LOC_2007633622.jpg/790px-Nationalist_China_-_administrative_divisons._LOC_2007633622.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Na... [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsu_Islands#Republic_of_China https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsu_Islands#Republic_of_Ch... [2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis
- bitxbitxbitcoin 4y agoI heard that conscripts used to draw straws to see who would get deployed to those islands because of the chance of artillery landing.
- xeromal 4y agoOh wow, I only thought they had one island.