Taiwan’s former battleground Quemoy becomes a new arena in the fight for the presidency

Presidential hopefuls have used the 65th anniversary of the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis to push their cross-strait peace campaigns

The symbolic meaning of former defence outpost also known as Kinmen has prompted those in the presidential race to use it to win over voters, analysts say

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The Xiamen city skyline on the Chinese mainland is seen past anti-landing spikes placed along the coast of Quemoy. Presidential hopefuls in Taiwan have been using the outpost in their cross-strait peace campaigns. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:00pm, 27 Aug 2023Updated: 4:13pm, 27 Aug 2023

Taiwan’s once war-torn Quemoy island has become a fierce battleground for presidential hopefuls to present themselves as the candidate best placed to reducing cross-strait hostility and bringing peace.

Since May, the former heavily militarised outpost – also known as Kinmen – has seen a flurry of visits by presidential hopefuls from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).

Observers said the symbolism of Quemoy as an ex-war zone as well as its proximity to the Chinese mainland had prompted the hopefuls to use it to tout their cross-strait peace overtures ahead of the crucial January election.

Lying roughly 10km (6 miles) east of the mainland city of Xiamen, Quemoy has been bombarded by the mainland twice – once in 1954 and again in 1958, commonly known as the First and Second Taiwan Strait Crises.

The KMT government, or the Nationalists who fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Chinese civil war on the mainland, managed to hold firm against the bombardment in both crises.

Speaking on Wednesday to mark the 65th anniversary of the 1958 crisis, KMT presidential candidate and New Taipei mayor Hou Yu-ih called for an improvement in relations with the mainland as well as peace, stability and prosperity between the two sides.

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