Place:Lienchiang, Fuchien, Republic of China

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The Matsu Islands ( or , ; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤), officially Lienchiang County (; Foochow Romanized: ), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China (ROC) based in Taiwan, with its location sitting alongside southeastern coast of mainland China. It is the smallest county in the ROC-controlled territories by area and population, as well as one of two counties that were part of the nominal Fujian Province.

The current Lienchiang County of the ROC was once part of an intact Lienchiang County of Fujian before its effective partition in 1949 following the Chinese Civil War, which resulted in the mainland portion of the county being controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC), while the offshore islands of Matsu remained under ROC control. The circumstance has made the county the only former geographical unit which is now divided between the administrations of the ROC and the PRC.

History

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Yuan Dynasty

Chinese from Fujian and Zhejiang started migrating to the islands during the Yuan Dynasty. Most of the people on Matsu came from Houguan (today Changle, Fujian). The popular net fishing industry had established the base for development of Fuao settlement and industrial development of the region over several hundred years.

Ming Dynasty

Some crewmen of Zheng He temporarily stayed on the islands.

Qing Dynasty

During the early Qing Dynasty, pirates gathered here and the residents left temporarily. In contrast with Taiwan and Penghu, the Matsu Islands were not ceded to the Japanese Empire via the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. Due to its strategic location along the only route for the spice traffic, the British established the Dongyong Lighthouse in Dongyin Island in 1912 to facilitate ships navigation.

Republic of China

In 1911, the Qing Dynasty was toppled after the Xinhai Revolution on 10 October 1911 and the Republic of China (ROC) was established on 1 January 1912. Matsu Islands were subsequently governed under the administration of Fukien Province of the ROC. On 1 August 1927, the Nanchang Uprising broke out between the ruling Nationalist Party of China (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which marked the beginning of Chinese Civil War.

On 10 September 1937, Japan occupied Beigan and Nangan via the Collaborationist Chinese Army, making the islands the first in Fujian to fall to Japan. The islands were not occupied by Japanese troops during World War II because they were not important militarily. The Surrender of Japan took place on August 15, 1945.

As a result of the Chinese Civil War, in 1949 the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took over mainland China from the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT). The CCP established the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 October 1949, which included administration of today's Lianjiang County of Fujian. The KMT retreated from mainland China to Taiwan at the end of 1949, but retained some of the offshore parts of Lienchiang County (namely, the Matsu Islands), and also most of Kinmen County (Quemoy). On 15 December 1950, the Matsu Administrative Office of Fujian Province, Republic of China, was established, including modern-day Lienchiang County (the Matsu Islands), as well as islands in present-day Haidao Township, Xiapu County and Taishan in present-day Shacheng, Fuding, Ningde, Fujian, China (PRC) which were attacked in 1950 and 1951.

In early July 1953, Chinese Nationalist guerillas retreated from islands in the Xiyang Island (Chihchutao) area of present-day Haidao Township (PRC), and the area came under the control of the PRC. In June 1955, the PRC undertook considerable road and military construction around Haitan Island, Pingtan County, Fuzhou, Fujian, China, including roads leading to possible artillery positions on the mainland. Those positions might have been used to protect the Haitan Strait, which was considered a favorable staging area for amphibious operations against the Matsu Islands. In July 1958, the PRC began massing forces opposite Kinmen (Quemoy) and Matsu (Lienchiang) and began bombarding them on 23 August, triggering the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. On 4 September 1958, the PRC announced the extension of its territorial waters by 20 kilometres (12 mi) to include the two islands. However, later that month, after talks between the USA and PRC in Warsaw, Poland, a ceasefire was agreed and the status quo reaffirmed.

The phrase "Quemoy and Matsu" became part of American political language in the 1960 U.S. presidential election. During the debates, both candidates, Vice-President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy, pledged to use American forces if necessary to protect Taiwan from invasion by the PRC, which the United States did not recognize as the legitimate government of China. However, in the second debate on 7 October 1960, the two candidates stated different opinions about whether American forces should also be used to protect Taiwan's forward positions, Quemoy and Matsu. Senator Kennedy stated that these islands—as little as 9 kilometres (5.5 mi) off the coast of China and as much as 170 kilometres (106 mi) from Taiwan—were strategically indefensible and were not essential to the defense of Taiwan. Vice-President Nixon maintained that since Quemoy and Matsu were in the "area of freedom", they should not, as a matter of principle, be surrendered to the Communists.

Earlier in the debate, Nixon said:

Later in the debate, Edward P. Morgan asked Senator Kennedy:

Kennedy's response was:

Vice President Nixon retorted:

After the third debate on 13 October 1960, Kennedy's advisers spoke with then Secretary of State Herter and said Kennedy was willing to revise his position on the Quemoy and Matsu issue so as not to give the Communists the impression that the USA would not stand united against aggression. Nixon pointed out the change in Kennedy's position but decided not to press the point due to the importance of the USA's role in what was an extremely tense situation. Polls of Republicans and Democrats showed overwhelming support for Nixon's position.

Self-governance of the county resumed in 1992, after the cessation of political warfare with the mainland and the abolition of Battle Field Administration on 7 November 1992. Afterwards, local construction picked up pace. In 1999, the islands were designated as the Matsu National Scenic Area Administration.^[1] In January 2001, direct cargo and passenger shipping started between Matsu and Fujian Province of the PRC. After 1 January 2015, tourists from mainland China could directly apply the Exit and Entry Permit upon arrival in Matsu Islands. That privilege also applied to Penghu and Kinmen, as a means to boost tourism in the outlying islands of Taiwan. In December 2015, the Huangqi-Matsu ship route was introduced as part of the Mini Three Links.

In 2020, rampant illegal sand mining by Chinese ships in the waters around the Matsu Islands caused concern in the islands and in the Executive Yuan about damage to the marine environment, possible damage to underwater telecommunications cables, and the potential for coastal erosion. Auctioning impounded ships was seen as an easy way for the dredging companies to get their ships back via intermediaries, hence sinking the impounded ships was under consideration.

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