@homeless.digitalnomad: Did you know that it's possible to swim from China to Taiwan? People have risked their lives swimming from China to Taiwan through the narrow waters around Kinmen, to escape political persecution and seek freedom. Some documented cases: • Tang Yuanjun (2002) — a Chinese democracy activist who had been imprisoned for his political activities. He traveled from Xiamen, jumped from a boat near Tatan Island, and swam ashore seeking political asylum in Taiwan. • Chen Rong-li (2004) — a former political prisoner who said he faced continued harassment and “re-education” after serving eight years in prison for attempting to participate in a democratic party. He took a boat from Xiamen and swam toward Kinmen while seeking asylum. • Jia Wei (2008) — told Taiwanese authorities that he and his family had been persecuted by Chinese Communists. He reportedly swam for about eight hours from Xiamen to Lesser Kinmen using flotation devices. • Lin Yong'an & Lin Jiadong — two young men from Xiamen who crossed the water to Kinmen, reportedly using basketballs as flotation devices, after objecting to Communist political and educational controls. • In 1986, a young Chinese teacher couple reportedly swam from Xiamen to Dadan Island seeking asylum. So why is Taiwan-controlled territory sitting just a few kilometers from mainland China? Kinmen (Quemoy) isn't geographically part of Taiwan Island. It is an island group off the coast of Fujian, historically connected to the Chinese mainland. Kinmen became a strategic military outpost because whoever controlled it could threaten or defend nearby Xiamen and the Fujian coast. The Republic of China retained Kinmen after Chinese Civil War. In 1949, communist forces attempted to seize it but were defeated at the Battle of Guningtou. Kinmen, Taiwan was subsequently attacked by the CCP repeatedly for many years, totalling in thousands of deaths until 1979. Now the island is safe for tourism (including many mainland Chinese tourists) That history explains the strange map today: Kinmen remained under ROC/Taiwan control even though it lies only a few kilometers from mainland China. #Kinmen #Taiwan #China #TaiwanHistory #taiwanstrait

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Friday 11 September 2026 15:14:22 GMT