Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te attended a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Kinmen artillery battle held on Kinmen Island, Taiwan's frontline outpost facing China's Fujian Province, and reaffirmed his resolve to defend Taiwan.

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Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te walks through the rain toward the venue to attend the anniversary ceremony of the Kinmen artillery battle on the 24th, where he strongly expressed his resolve to defend Taiwan. / Haixia Daobao

According to Beijing sources well-versed in cross-strait (China-Taiwan) relations on the 25th, President Lai made these remarks on the 23rd while presiding over an event marking the 68th anniversary of the Kinmen Artillery Battle, stating that the artillery battle was "a glorious battle in which the military and civilians defended 'Tai-Peng-Kin-Ma' (Taiwan proper, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu) together to safeguard the Republic of China."

He then emphasized, "China's authoritarian forces have never halted their ambitions for external expansion over the past 68 years," and asserted, "Even if the world is at peace, forgetting war will inevitably bring crisis."

In addition, he urged, "Let both the ruling and opposition parties uphold the spirit of the August 23 resistance against communism and defense of Taiwan, and support the defense budget to build an even firmer and sturdier foundation for peace in the Taiwan Strait."

According to the sources, he evaluated that the victory in the artillery battle provided an important foundation for maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait that has continued for 68 years. At the same time, he asserted that it successfully thwarted China's ambitions for expansion and aggression toward the First Island Chain (an imaginary line connecting Japan's Okinawa, Taiwan, and the Philippines) and the Indo-Pacific region.

Reactions from ruling and opposition parties to President Lai's remarks are sharply divided. First, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) commented, "The spirit of the August 23 Artillery Battle stated by President Lai expresses the fact that it is about remembering the lessons of war, not the continuation of war. It clearly showed that unity and steadfast defense, rather than confrontation, are what deter aggression."

On the other hand, an opposition lawmaker pointed out, "He mentioned the spirit of the August 23 Artillery Battle as the local elections scheduled for late November approach," adding, "Reflecting on how past remarks by DPP figures hurt war veterans and Kinmen residents must come first."

Amid this situation, Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of Taiwan's main pro-China opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), visited Kinmen Island the previous day and held a separate event for the first time since taking office as the 12th chairperson in November last year. At this event, Chairperson Cheng asserted, "Both sides of the strait must ease tensions and resolve conflicts through dialogue, exchange, communication, and cooperation so that 'Tai-Peng-Kin-Ma' is not put in a position to choose between 'humiliation and war,'" adding, "We must not lead Taiwan down a 'dead end' through the so-called 'two-state theory' (the stance viewing both sides of the strait as separate nations)."

Kinmen Island is famous as an island hosting Taiwan's frontline military base, located merely about 6 km away from Xiamen, Fujian Province, China. It is also widely known as the site where a large-scale artillery battle took place between China and Taiwan for 44 days from August 23 to October 5, 1958.

At the time, the People's Liberation Army, under the orders of Chairman Mao Zedong, poured as many as 470,000 artillery shells onto Kinmen Island. However, blocked by the stubborn resistance of the Taiwanese military, they failed to occupy it. As a result, the Taiwanese side suffered casualties of 456 soldiers killed and 1,972 wounded. Among civilians, 162 were killed and 638 injured. Taiwan has held events every year to honor them. For China, as it failed to capture Kinmen Island at the time, this can be considered a deeply painful commemoration.

                                                                                                           Hong Soon-do