Wuchiu, Kinmen
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Wuqiu (Wuchiu, Wuciou, Ockseu) ( Puxian Min: ''Ou-chhiu'', Hakka: ''Vû-hiu-hiông'') is a group of islands comprising two major islands, namely Greater Qiu Islet and Smaller Qiu Islet, in the
Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a s ...
. Administratively, Wuqiu Township is a rural township which is part of Kinmen County (Quemoy), Fukien of the
Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
nominally ''de jure'' part of
Putian County Putian or Putien (, Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Xinghua or Hing Hwa (), is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou City to the no ...
. It is the smallest township in Kinmen County and is located northeast of the rest of the county. The township is from the
Port of Taichung The Port of Taichung (), also Taichung Port, is a port located in Wuqi District, Taichung, Taiwan. It is the second-largest port in Taiwan after Kaohsiung Port and operated by Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Taiwan's state-owned harbor m ...
on Taiwan. The closest territory under PRC control is the neighboring
Luci Island Luci Island () (also Loutz Island (Lu-tzʻu, Lucih) and Lusi Island (Lusih, Lu-ssu) () is an uninhabited island southeast of the Asian mainland in Pinghai Town (), Xiuyu District, Putian, Fujian, People's Republic of China (PRC) and north-northw ...
(Lusi Island),
Xiuyu District Xiuyu District () is a district of the city of Putian, Fujian, People's Republic of China. The district executive, legislature and judiciary are in Hushi Town (), together with the CPC and PSB branches. History In October 1952, PRC and ROC fo ...
,
Putian Putian or Putien (, Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Xinghua or Hing Hwa (), is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou City to the nor ...
,
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
, which is to the north-northwest. Greater Qiu Island is the site of the
Wuqiu Lighthouse The Wuqiu Lighthouse () is a lighthouse in Daqiu Village, Wuqiu Township (Ockseu), Kinmen County (Quemoy), Fujian Province (Fukien), Republic of China (Taiwan). History The lighthouse was constructed by the Netherlands in 1874 with engineer ...
.


History

In the early 1400s, Wuqiu was known as a marker on the sailing route between China and the
Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...
. As of 1843, a "considerable fishing village" existed in Ockseu (Wuqiu). The
Wuqiu Lighthouse The Wuqiu Lighthouse () is a lighthouse in Daqiu Village, Wuqiu Township (Ockseu), Kinmen County (Quemoy), Fujian Province (Fukien), Republic of China (Taiwan). History The lighthouse was constructed by the Netherlands in 1874 with engineer ...
was built in 1874, directed by David Marr Henderson. In September 1910, the center of a typhoon swept over
Niushan Island Niushan Island, also known as Niushan Dao,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Niushandao, Kiushan Tao or , is an island in Nanlai Village (), Aoqian Town (), Pingtan County, Fuzhou, Fujian Province in the People's Republic of ...
(Turnabout Island) and Wuqiu (Ockseu) or a few miles to the southeast. Wuqiu Township was originally part of
Putian County Putian or Putien (, Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Xinghua or Hing Hwa (), is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou City to the no ...
with many of its residents emigrating from the county. After the end of
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
in 1949, Wuqiu became disconnected from Putian. Control of Ockseu and other insular areas was shared between the KMT and anti-Communist guerrillas. In June 1954, the township was provisionally reassigned to Kinmen (Quemoy) County. In 1954, Wuchiu was shelled and attacked by the Chinese Communists on several occasions. On February 25, 1955, Chinese Communist ships shelled Wuchiu. On June 21, 1955, Nationalist planes heavily damaged a 40-ton tugboat at Wuchiu. In February 1956, there were reports that the 480-man guerrilla force on Wuchiu would be evacuated. The Wuchiu Islands were seen as "highly vulnerable to Communist strikes" and "of little military value to the Nationalists." Once the War Affairs Committee was founded in July 1956, strong and complete foundation for war affairs was built in the township. In February 1957, the British cargo ship '' Hydralock'' ran aground off Ockseu Island. All 31 crew abandoned ship, but then disappeared. They were later discovered safe on
Haitan Island Pingtan Island or Haitan Island is an island of Fuzhou off the east coast of mainland Asia in Pingtan County, Fujian Province, China (PRC), south of the complex estuary of the Min River. It is the largest island in Fujian and the fifth-larges ...
. In the summer of 1965, then-
Minister of National Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...
visited the island as part of an inspection. Late on the night of November 13, 1965, the Nationalist patrol boat ''Yungtai'' and the minesweeper ''Yungchang'' were on patrol southwest of the islands covering amphibious boats that were unloading supplies to Wuchiu. At just after midnight, eight Chinese Communist boats (three escort destroyers and five gunboats) coming from
Quanzhou Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
(Chuanchou) attacked the two Nationalist boats ( 烏坵海戰). The ''Yungchang'' was sunk almost immediately with fifteen survivors who were rescued by the USS ''O'Brien''. ''Yungtai'' sunk four of the Communist gunboats but was scrapped due to excessive damage from the engagement. In the early morning of March 20, 1974, Lt. Wu Miao-huo defected to the PRC. He took a rubber speedboat from Wuchiu to Nanjih Island. Wu wasn't able to get along with his superior officers. Martial law was lifted from the township on 7 November 1992. On 29 January 1994, Wuqiu residents had their first election to elect the fourth head of Wuqiu Township. And on 16 July 1994, the residents had their first election to elect the fourth village heads of Daqiu Village and Xiaoqiu Village. In November 1994, General Li Kai, commander of the troops at Wuqiu, committed suicide. During the
Third Taiwan Strait Crisis The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was the effect of a series of missile tests conducted by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the waters surrounding Taiwan ...
in 1996, military sources in Taipei expected China to attack a small Taiwan-held island. The most likely target was Wuchiu, then garrisoned by 500 soldiers. The outlying islands were placed on high alert. In 1998,
Zero Chou Zero Chou (; born 24 July 1969) is a Taiwanese director and screenwriter. Life and career Chou was born in Keelung, Taiwan in 1969. She earned a B.A. in Philosophy from National Chengchi University in 1992. She worked as a journalist before beco ...
produced a documentary about the islands called Yi Shi Zai Hai Xia Zhong ("Lost in the Strait") (Chinese: 遺失在海峽中:烏坵, 48 mins). On December 26, 2001, President
Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
visited Wuqiu and delivered remarks. Chen was the first president to visit Wuqiu during their presidency. In 2012, Wuqiu, along with Daren Township in Taitung County, was proposed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs as the candidate of the new disposal site of
nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons ...
after the Lanyu Storage Site in
Orchid Island Orchid Island, also known by other names, is a volcanic island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan Island. The island is part of Taiwan. It is separated from the Batanes of the Philippines by the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait. It is g ...
, Taitung County. This proposal however received heavy objection from the local Wuqiu residents. On July 23, 2017, after a period of sixty years in which the lighthouse remained disused, the Wuqiu Lighthouse resumed service. On August 24, 2017,
Chen Fu-Hai Chen Fu-hai (; born 3 June 1963) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Magistrate of Kinmen County from 2014 to 2018, and again since 25 December 2022 as an independent politician. Education Chen obtained his bachelor's degree from the Departme ...
, then-magistrate of Kinmen County, visited the Wuqiu Township Office. On the night of August 2, 2019, a cargo ship in port at Wuqiu struck a
tetrapod Tetrapods (; ) are four-limbed vertebrate animals constituting the superclass Tetrapoda (). It includes extant and extinct amphibians, sauropsids ( reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (pelycosaurs, extinct theraps ...
in choppy waves. The ship sank but the thirteen crew members were rescued by the Wuqiu Islands Garrison Command. In March 2020, the Kinmen County Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Office () sent five persons to Wuqiu to sterilize five dogs on the island in order to prevent the dogs from breeding and causing problems for the residents. On March 29, 2020, at about 3:55 PM, a capsized ship from mainland China, Haifa 88 (), which had entered Wuqiu's restricted waters on March 9, broke free from the anchorage holding it in place and floated away. On March 9 at 7:32 AM, the ship had been in a collision with another larger ship from mainland China, Minshiyu 07725 (), in Wuqiu's restricted waters, and the four man crew of the ship were rescued at that time. In late April 2020, Magistrate
Yang Cheng-wu Yang Cheng-wu (; born 26 June 1972) is a Taiwanese politician. He has served as Magistrate of Kinmen County since 25 December 2018, having won the office in the 2018 Taiwanese local elections. Prior to contesting the magistracy, Yang represented ...
visited Wuqiu for the first time as magistrate and stayed overnight.


Geography

Wuqiu consists of Greater Qiu Islet (, ''Dàqiū yǔ'') and Smaller Qiu Islet (, ''Xiǎoqiū yǔ'', Hsia Hsü ) with a total area of 1.2 km2, not to be confused with two islets
Daqiu Island Daqiu Island (Ta Chiu/Tachiu) (; Foochow Romanized: Duâi-kiŭ-dō̤) is an island in the East China Sea, part of Beigan Township, Lienchiang County (the Matsu Islands), Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan). The island has been uninhabite ...
() and Xiaoqiu Island () lying off the north coast off
Beigan Beigan Township (; Foochow Romanized: Báe̤k-găng-hiŏng), is an insular rural township in Lienchiang County (the Matsu Islands), Taiwan (ROC). The township is in the East China Sea off the coast of Fujian Province, China near Fuzhou (Foochow ...
in the
Matsu Islands The Matsu Islands ( or , ; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤), officially Lienchiang County (, ; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China ( ...
(Lienchiang County). The islands are considered a basepoint of the Chinese territorial sea by the PRC. Greater Qiu Islet lies from
Luci Island Luci Island () (also Loutz Island (Lu-tzʻu, Lucih) and Lusi Island (Lusih, Lu-ssu) () is an uninhabited island southeast of the Asian mainland in Pinghai Town (), Xiuyu District, Putian, Fujian, People's Republic of China (PRC) and north-northw ...
(Lusi Island), from
Nanri Island Nanri Island (Chinese: ), Nanjisü, Nanjih, historically known as Nanni Shan () and Nanri Shan (), is a small island off the coast of China. Nanri Town () is an administrative unit of Xiuyu District, Putian, Fujian, People's Republic of China whi ...
, and from
Meizhou Island Meizhou Island (; Pu-Xian Min: ''Mî-ciu-doh''), Meichow; Meichou, is a small island close to the coast of China. Meizhou Town () is an administrative unit of Xiuyu District, Putian, Fujian, China. It is known for being the birthplace of the go ...
, all in
Xiuyu District Xiuyu District () is a district of the city of Putian, Fujian, People's Republic of China. The district executive, legislature and judiciary are in Hushi Town (), together with the CPC and PSB branches. History In October 1952, PRC and ROC fo ...
of
Putian Putian or Putien (, Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Xinghua or Hing Hwa (), is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou City to the nor ...
,
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
, China (PRC). It is distant from other territory in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
(ROC) being from
Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...
, from Nangan in the Matsu Islands, and from
Port of Taichung The Port of Taichung (), also Taichung Port, is a port located in Wuqi District, Taichung, Taiwan. It is the second-largest port in Taiwan after Kaohsiung Port and operated by Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Taiwan's state-owned harbor m ...
on Taiwan.


Government and politics


Administrative divisions

Wuqiu township is made up of two rural villages: * Daqiu Village () * Xiaoqiu Village ()


Elections


Presidential elections

113 residents of Wuqiu participated in the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election.


Mayors

*Yang Jui-Ta () *Li I-Chiang () *Tsai Yuan-Chen () *Chen Hsing-Chiu () *Tsai Yung-Fu ()


Military

The Wuqiu Islands Garrison Command ( - ''Wūqiū Shǒubèi Dàduì'') defends the islands. The
Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN; ), also called the ROC Navy and colloquially the Taiwan Navy, is the maritime branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF). The service was formerly commonly just called the Chinese Navy during World W ...
has deployed twenty XTR-102 systems in Wuqiu.


Demographics

There are 400 people with household registration in Wuqiu Township. The total population living on the islands fluctuates with the seasons.


Economy

Due to its location surrounded by ocean, fishing is the primary source of income for its residents.


Infrastructure

Drinking water is provided to the residents by using
reverse osmosis Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pre ...
equipment. Generators are used to improve power shortages.


Transportation

Ferry services and resupply between Greater Kinmen and Daqiu is run by the military every fifteen days. Transportation between Daqiu and Xiaoqiu (900 meters apart) was historically carried out by sampan. In 2008, the county government received a subsidy to build a boat for the township. Ferry connection is available to the
Port of Taichung The Port of Taichung (), also Taichung Port, is a port located in Wuqi District, Taichung, Taiwan. It is the second-largest port in Taiwan after Kaohsiung Port and operated by Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Taiwan's state-owned harbor m ...
on Taiwan.


Culture

The languages spoken in Wuqiu are the native
Pu-Xian Min Puxian (Hinghwa Romanized: ''Pó-sing-gṳ̂''; ), also known as Pu-Xian Chinese, Puxian Min, Xinghua, Henghwa or Hinghwa (''Hing-hua̍-gṳ̂''; ), is a Sinitic language that forms a branch of Min Chinese. Puxian is a transitional variety of ...
(Hinghwa dialect) and
Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
. The residents of other islands in Kinmen (Quemoy) County speak Quanzhou dialect of Min-Nan (Hokkien).


Tourist attractions

*
Wuqiu Lighthouse The Wuqiu Lighthouse () is a lighthouse in Daqiu Village, Wuqiu Township (Ockseu), Kinmen County (Quemoy), Fujian Province (Fukien), Republic of China (Taiwan). History The lighthouse was constructed by the Netherlands in 1874 with engineer ...


See also

*
Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...
*
List of islands of Taiwan The islands comprising the Taiwan Area under the jurisdiction of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC) are classified into various island groups. The Geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, is the largest island and the main c ...


References


External links


Wuqiu Township Office Fujian Provincial Government website

Satellite image of the islands of Wuchiu and Hsiaochiu
by
Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

Locator map of Wuqiu

紀錄觀點【烏坵.ROC】(導演:柯金源)
('Viewpoints: Wuchiu, ROC (Director: Chin-Yuan Ke)')
2017/9/1 南部開講-在地旅行 烏坵軍旅記憶小旅行
('South Taiwan Talk- Area Travelling A Walk Down Memory Lane: Wuchiou Military Memories')
一個最難到達的鄉鎮﹣用心看烏坵(金門縣烏坵鄉)
('The Hardest Township to Reach- Understanding Wuchiu (Wuchiu Township, Kinmen County)') {{Kinmen divisions Islands of Fujian, Republic of China