On this episode of China Uncensored...
the war between China and Taiwan!
Hi and welcome to China—it’s right over there!
I’m standing on the island of Jinmen,
just off the coast of China’s Fujian province.
Yes, that’s Jinmen with a “K”.
Some people also call it Kinmen.
Oh, and in the old-timey days,
people called it Quemoy.
Just like Taiwan used to be called Formosa.
Or like text messages used to be called
“Oh my gosh, just call your mother!”
But even though the People’s Republic of China,
the PRC, is just a few miles across the water,
this island is part of the Republic of China,
the ROC.
Aka Taiwan.
Aka Formosa.
Aka your mom.
Wait.
I know what you're thinking,
how can a little part of Taiwan be so close to mainland China?
why hasn’t the Chinese army invaded already?
Well, they tried.
Like three times.
They just...weren’t very good at invading.
First, in 1949, the ROC’s forces—
called the Nationalists—
fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war to the communists.
Then the communist forces tried to capture Jinmen
as a first step toward invading Taiwan.
But they didn’t expect the Nationalists to be prepared for them.
Also they didn’t bring enough food.
So the Communists...didn’t win.
Then between 1954-1955,
the Communist Party’s army shelled Jinmen
to test if the United States would really back the Nationalists.
“Chinese Nationalist soldiers spring into action
on shell-torn Quemoy island
as a warning alert sends frightened children
and their parents scurrying for shelter,
wondering if this is the long-threatened communist attack
on their beleaguered outpost.
Barely five miles from the mainland,
Chiang Kai-shek’s troops are ever-alert,
pledged never to surrender Quemoy.
Coastal batteries are ready to bark death to the communists,
plotting their evil schemes across the sullen sea.”
Not only did the US help,
they considered dropping a nuke on China.
Wait, forget the nuclear bombs for a minute.
Let’s go back to that newsreel.
“Plotting their evil schemes across the sullen sea?”
That’s amazing.
Why don’t reporters talk like that anymore?
Really?
That’s what you got from that?
No.
Carry on.
Anyway, only three years later,
the PRC tried to invade Kinmen again.
“Suddenly the Chinese Nationalist offshore island of Quemoy
has become the red-hot target for communist artillery.”
On August 23, 1958,
the PRC started bombarding Kinmen,
which became known as the 823 artillery battle.
In fact, they shelled Kinmen for 44 days.
And dropped 470,000 artillery shells over the island.
The PRC and ROC also waged naval and air battles over the island.
We spoke with Li Shi-sheng,
who was in the local militia defending Jinmen.
“In the militia,
we had to wear our own clothes and eat our own food.
All to protect this land...
We didn’t even know where our next meal would come from.
We were scared all the time.
We constantly had to hide.”
But the shelling continued.
For the next 20 years.
Only now,
the shells were filled with propaganda from the dirty reds.
Chris, we’re not doing that.
Okay fine.
While Americans were watching Star Wars
and dancing to Saturday Night Fever,
the communist People’s Liberation Army was still firing on Jimen
three or four times a week.
Some shells were full of propaganda leaflets.
Others were full of lead.
“When we heard the first shells hit,
we would go into the bomb shelters.
We would be able to tell where the shells would hit
just from the sound.
Whether the shells were from Xiamen or the other islands,
we’d be able to tell where they were from
and where they would hit.”
That’s why locals built these
underground concrete tunnels and bunkers
that connect all the houses.
Even under this Qing-Dynasty era school.
And they also acquired all these weapons.
The Nationalists also built these underground docks
called the Jhaishan tunnels—
so they could load and unload supply boats
out of the range of communist Chinese bombs.
The people of Jinmen also fought back.
By sending their own anti-communist propaganda
to the mainland.
Through loudspeakers that played
across to the mainland.
And other ways as well.
“The anti-Reds are experimenting
with other ways of getting their message across
the two miles of sea.
Under favorable conditions,
balloons carrying propaganda leaflets rise to 40,000 feet,
and have been known to stay up 12 hours.”
But people also tried to carry on with their lives.
One family actually found a pretty good use
for all those bomb shells.
“First we have to decide what kind of knife
to make from the bombshell,
then we cut a piece of the bombshell,
add heat, and shape it.
It needs to be cooled in oil and not water,
because of the grade of the steel.
Then we grind and sharpen the blade,
and then add the handle.
That’s how we make a knife.”
Now Jinmen looks like a sleepy rural island.
But For years,
it was on the front lines
of the battle between the communists and the free world.
Communist China tried to bomb Jinmen into submission,
but never did.
Now, they’re using money to do what bombs couldn’t.
Today, tourists from Mainland China frequent
the once war torn island.
And, looking across at the more prosperous
Xiamen in mainland China,
many in Jinmen now want to get closer
to their former Communist adversaries.
There's even talk of building a bridge
between Jinmen and the mainland.
So what you’re saying is,
the Taiwan side stopped the propaganda war too soon!
No...that’s not exactly what I was trying to…
Don’t worry Shelley!
I’m on it.
Come with me
America’s darling Chris Chappell,
star of many hit YouTubes,
plus his plucky sidekick Shelley Zhang,
has taken up the mantle battling the evil communists
on the island of Quemoy with renewed vigor.
Balloons carrying messages of freedom
will rain down upon the dirty reds and...
Chris, what are you doing?
I’m putting, you know,
messages of freedom in balloons.
It’s the 21st century.
Pieces of paper in balloons won’t help anyone.
You’re right!
I need to use modern technology.
Flash drives!
You know you also need to use helium.
Aww.