Similar to my post on Moldova/Ukraine and the bridge between Kinshasa & Brazzaville, I found this from endlessly scrolling on Google Maps 🙂 Because of recent news about tense relations between the PRC and ROC, I decided to take to a map to see more about these particular Taiwanese islands called Kinmen & Lienchiang!
Where we are in the world
Since 1949, the Republic of China (ROC) has existed in its current state after being expelled from the mainland from the Communist Party of China which concurrently formed the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The ROC is mostly on a large island about 100 miles away from mainland China.
However, there are two small island chains (administered by the ROC as “counties”) that are within 10 miles or less from mainland China called Kinmen & Lienchiang (also called Matsu) counties. Because of how close these islands are to the PRC, they have been the location of many of the “cross-strait relations” between PRC and ROC.
See the interactive Google Map at the bottom of the post!
Three key facts about this map
Kinmen County, ROC is located less than 1.5 miles from PRC
Despite all of the press about “cross strait relations”, some parts of Kinmen County are less than a “strait away” from China – they are less than 1.5 miles away! After the Nationalist Government of Taiwan was expelled from the mainland in 1949, they maintained positions on Kinmen and Matsu islands and, with support of Western powers, successfully defended their position. The PRC has extensively shelled the islands due to their proximity to the mainland throughout the 1950s.
The “mini three-links” opened up travel and trade between these counties and the PRC
In 2001, the governments of both ROC and PRC implemented the “mini three-links”, an initiative to open postal services, transport, and trade links between the outer islands of Kinmen & Lienchiang and mainland China. Though there were many restrictions on travel at first, these links were the start of what grew to become increasingly direct transportation routes between Taiwan and China.
Prior to these direct connections, passengers travelling between the two countries would often need to transfer through Hong Kong or Macau.
After the “mini three-links” was implemented, mail delivery issues arose because of two Lienchiang counties
After the opening of postal service relations between the ROC outer islands and the PRC, mail would often get lost in the system because the PRC has a “Lienjiang County” located just kilometers away from the Taiwanese county of Lienchiang. This led to a proposal within Taiwan to change the name of their Lienchiang County to Matsu; however, the name of the county never changed.
Additional links and sources
- News article about the proposed name change of Lienchiang County to Matsu (link, published in 2003)
- Tourism website for the Offshore Islands (link)
- Photos of Kinmen Island, Taiwan (link, published in 2015)
- News article from CNN about the Kinmen and Matsu Islands (link, published in 2021)
Have you been to or seen these Taiwanese islands?
See other places around the world Globe Charting has featured!
Including another post in Asia: the Burmese capital, Naypyidaw!
