Everything about Matsu Islands totally explained
The
Matsu Islands (also
Mazu Islands) are a minor
archipelago of 19
islands and islets in the
Taiwan Strait administered as
Lienchiang County (or
Lianjiang) (連江
Pinyin: Liánjiāng),
Fujian Province of the
Republic of China (ROC). Not all of what is historically part of Lienchiang county is under the control of the ROC. The
People's Republic of China controls the part of the county adjoining the
mainland and has a separate administration for that jurisdiction,
Lianjiang County, which claims the entire archipelago to be its Matsu Township (媽祖鄉).
They are named after the goddess
Mazu.
Kinmen is the other archipelago on the Fujian coast controlled by the ROC.
History
Fujianese
Mainlanders started migrating to the islands in the
Yuan Dynasty. Most people on Matsu came from Houguan (侯官) (today Changle County (長樂縣),
Fujian).
Some crewmen of
Zheng He temporarily stayed on the islands. In early
Qing Dynasty,
pirates gathered here and residents temporarily left.
As part of Fukien, Matsu Islands were not colonised by Japan, as the island of
Taiwan and the
Pescadores were.
After the
Nationalists retreated to Taiwan in 1949, the ROC retained the part of Lienchiang County offshore (and the entire
Kinmen County as well). The common Romanization used in the ROC is
Wade-Giles (Lienchiang) while the PRC uses
pinyin (Lianjiang). However, the name is the same in Chinese.
The phrase "
Quemoy and Matsu" became part of U.S. political language in the
1960 U.S. presidential election. During the debates, both candidates,
Richard Nixon and
John F. Kennedy, pledged to use U.S. forces if necessary to protect the
Republic of China from invasion by the
People's Republic of China, the mainland, which the U.S. didn't at that time recognize as a legitimate government. Vice President Nixon charged that Senator Kennedy wouldn't use U.S. forces to protect Taiwan's forward positions, Quemoy and Matsu.
In April
2003, the county government started considering changing the name to Matsu County to avoid confusion with the county of the same name on the mainland. This is the first example of a local government officially wishing to change its name.
Townships
Lienchiang County (of the Taiwan) is currently divided into four townships:
Altogether, there are 22 Lienchiang villages, which are further divided into 137 neighborhoods (鄰 lín).
All townships, except
Chukuang, are named after the largest island in its jurisdictional area, but most townships also include other islets.
Geography
The Matsu Islands include five major islands:
Nangan, Dongjyu and Sijyu (both in
Jyuguang Township), Beigan, and Dongyin. Minor islands include Liang (亮島), Gaodeng (高登), Daciou (大坵), and Siaociou (小坵) -- all belong to the Peikan Township.
North: 26º18' N
South: 25º56' N
East: 120º1'20" E
West: 119º51' E
Another set of coordinates: 119°51'-120°31' E, 25°55'-26°44' N.
Dongyin is the northernmost and Dongjyu is the southernmost.
Dongyin is 100 nautical miles (190 km) from Keelung, Taiwan, 180 to the Pescadores Islands, and slightly over 10 nautical miles (19 km) from the Asia mainland.
The soils are not ideal for farming.
The highest point is on Peikan, 298 metres.
Areas:
Nangan: 10.43 km²
Beigan: 8.86 km²
Dongyin: 4.35 km²
Jyuguang islands: see Jyuguang
Average annual temperature is 8.9°C, with the lowest point being 1.3°.
The total number of islands and islets is 19. (External Link
)
Demographics
The language spoken by Matsu residents is Fuzhou dialect (福州話), a dialect of Min Dong Language.
Chen (陳) is the most common surname, then Lin (林), Wang (王), Tsao (曹), and Liu (劉).
Several islands are not inhabited permanently, some of which are stationed by Taiwan soldiers.
Economy
Farm products include rice, sugar cane, tea plant, orange. Sea animals, such as fish, clams, and jellyfish, are also popular exports.
Natural reserves
Since 1990, the county controls the Matsu Islands Bird Sanctuary (馬祖列島燕鷗保護區), which spreads across eight islands and islets in Nangan, Beigan and Tongyin Townships. It contains 30 species in 15 orders, mostly gulls and terns. In 2000, four pairs of the critically endangered Chinese Crested Tern, previously thought to be extinct, were discovered nesting on the Matsu Islands, giving them global conservation importance.
There are also mosses and ferns rare or absent on PROC and Taiwan.
Connection to the goddess
Matsu, though named after the goddess Matsu, is written with a different character that has a different tone. But the Matsu Islands are not the birthplace of the goddess as the human Lin Muoniang -- Meizhou Island is -- but her death place (on a seaport named after her on Nangan Island).
The Matsu Nangan Heavenly Empress Palace (馬祖南竿天后宮), a temple dedicated to the goddess, contains the sarcophagus of Lin Muoniang. It is, however, not as popular as the Meizhou temple.
Most Taiwanese pilgrims to Meizhou start off their journey in the Matsu Islands because they're the closest Taiwan-controlled base to Meizhou, which is controlled by the PRC.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Matsu Islands'.
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