Taiwan marks 60 years since China artillery attack
KiNmeN ( Taiwan): President Tsai Ing-wen has called for unity and vowed not to bow to pressure from Beijing on as the island marks the 60th anniversary of a deadly Chinese artillery attack.
Yesterday’s anniversary of the assault on tiny Kinmen island, known as the “823 bombardment”, comes as China steps up pressure on self-ruling Taiwan, which it sees as part of its territory to be reunified.
China’s People’s Liberation Army fired 470,000 shells at Kinmen and nearby islets in 1958, killing 618 servicemen and civilians in an attack that lasted 44 days.
Kinmen is part of Taiwan, but lies less than 3km off mainland China, at the narrowest part of the Taiwan Strait.
“When we remember the ‘ 823 bombardment’ 60 years later, we will not forget the spirit of solidarity,” Tsai said on her Facebook page. “When we face diplomatic suppression we will not forget how strong our country can be when we are united,” she added, saying that while Taiwanese people cherished peace they would not take national security for granted.
Tensions with Beijing have worsened under Tsai because she refuses to acknowledge that Taiwan is part of “one China”.
In response, China has ramped up military drills and poached Taiwan’s official diplomatic allies – El Salvador became the third this year to switch ties from Taipei to Beijing on Tuesday.
At an anniversary ceremony held in a former army bunker and combat centre in Kinmen, Taiwan’s Defence Minister Yen De-fa said today’s troops in Taiwan must again make “combat preparations” in the face of what he described as a growing military threat from China.