Kinmen: Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen called for unity and vowed not to bow to pressure from Beijing on Thursday as the island marked the 60th anniversary of a deadly Chinese artillery attack. The 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 two miles 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. (AFP)
