Kinmen Changes Gear

Written by Jim Hwang, this article was originally published by Taiwan's Free China Review in June 1996. The article begins by pointing out that because Kinmen was closed to outsiders for more than four decades, people on Taiwan know very little of life on this offshore island fortress. It then discusses the island's historical background and the various battles it has witnessed since as early as the sixteenth century. The second part of the article features Kinmen's daily life under the shadow of war -- life lived by both military personnel and normal civilians. The third and final part of the article introduces the challenges Kinman has been facing, since the ending of military administration in the island in 1992. These challenges include the island's struggles to develop tourism, to beef up its educational resources for local children, to increase supplies of water and electricity, and to attract government funding and business investment.

The article begins with the following paragraphs:

"Deep inside a granite bunker, a newly commissioned army officer is enjoying his first lunch on the offshore island of Kinmen, or Quemoy as it is known in the southern Fujian dialect. Despite the gloom and the high humidity, plain army food seems to be having no ill effects on his appetite. Suddenly there is a terrific boom. Without hesitation, the officer reacts as he has been trained to do: He hurls himself under the table, shouting: 'Incoming! Take over!'"

"But his prompt action, far from winning commendation, draws only gales of laughter. Those who have been based here for a while know that two decades have passed since shots were last fired in anger on Kinmen, and that the explosion was just a routine artillery test. Nevertheless, the officer's response points up the fact that few people know much about the place..."