This past May, Professor Adam Webb led a trip of students to visit Kinmen Islands. The informal weekend trip was meant to explore the island and its significance. To learn more about the trip, we interviewed two students—Derek Chuah and Lucas Liu—about their experiences.
What did you do on this trip? Where did you go?
Lucas Liu: Since the trip was relatively informal, we didn’t
have a hard itinerary. On Saturday we started our trip by travelling to the
Taiwanese Coast Guardsmen’s headquarters to talk about their day-to-day work
life and responsibilities and learned more about the tools they use. After
lunch, we toured the island’s various historical structures left behind from
decades of conflict with the mainland. At the end of the day, we treated the
Guardsmen to a delicious dinner of skewers, noodles, and other Kinmen
delicacies, not to mention bottles of eye-watering Kinmen liquor. For me, an
HNC student who spent the better part of the last year in Taiwan and had no
plans to travel to the mainland, it was the closest I had gotten. It was a
surreal experience, and I am glad to have been able to end my year at the HNC
with that trip.
Derek Chuah: Personally, I enjoyed this trip very much. I
learned so much about their history and culture through participating in free
guided tours offered by the Kinmen County Government. I went there earlier than
the rest of the group so I could spend more time to dive deep into Kinmen. I
spent four days there. Places I visited include the Kinmen Military
Headquarters, Jiangong Islet, Little Kinmen,
Dayue Gun Tower, Mofun Street, Juguang Tower and I also hiked the Mount
Taiwu. On Sunday,
Professor Webb borrowed a coast guard’s personal van and drove us to places in
Kinmen and Little Kinmen, such as to the Kinmen Folk Cultural Village, and to a
site where we could see Xiamen at a close distance.
Why did you participate in this trip to Kinmen Islands?
Chuah: I participated in this trip because I always heard
about Kinmen in some of my previous classes about the geopolitical situations
in the 1950s so by visiting Kinmen, I hoped to hear and to learn about locals’
experiences living in Kinmen during the martial law era and afterwards. My
goals were met because I learned about cross-strait relations, such as that people
in Kinmen could travel to Xiamen by boat and the water in Kinmen also comes
from Fujian. So, there are a lot of economic activities going on between the
two sides.
Liu: I had always wanted to learn more about the geopolitical significance of Taiwanese islands close to the mainland like Kinmen and Matsu. I also wanted to experience what life was like on Kinmen and see what the experience was like for Taiwanese people living so close to the mainland. As this was my last weekend in Taiwan, I also wanted to spend some time with my classmates in what would be my last group experience with fellow HNC students, and in the end, I truly enjoyed my time with them.
What was something unexpected you experienced or learned on this trip?
Liu: Before arriving, I was always under the impression that
Kinmen was a hotly-contested piece of land that often brought up a lot of
conflict between the mainland and Taiwan. However, after speaking to the
Guardsmen, I was surprised to learn quite the opposite, at least from their
perspective. In their day-to-day duties and even from the perspectives of many
residents of the island, there was little indication of their worry over
cross-strait conflict. Their job centered on law enforcement, which mainly
dealt with illegal fishing and sand dredging and much less with any small or
larger scale conflict. Furthermore, I was very surprised to hear that many
residents have good opinions of the relationship between the mainland and
Taiwan, and some even travel to Xiamen on occasion. As a result, this trip
really changed my perspective on how disconnected the larger geopolitical
discussions can be from local communities, and I found this to be a very
valuable insight.
Chuah: I didn’t know many people from Kinmen went to Southeast Asia, and as a result, they brought back many ideas as shown in their architectural style and food. For example, Cantonese congee with Chinese fried donut is a common breakfast dish in Kinmen. When Kinmen people went to or came back from Southeast Asia, they stopped in Canton; as a result, they brought it back to Kinmen. They also bought back spices such as pepper from Southeast Asia, so it is common to put a bit of pepper in the congee. Before I went to Kinmen, I did not know they created so many underground tunnels and Kinmen preserved some of the best Minnan villages.
What was your favorite part of the trip?
Chuah: My favorite part of the trip was learning about
Kinmen through visiting historical sites and talking with locals and Coast
Guards. I also enjoyed eating the local food. It was nice to visit Kinmen
before I wrapped up my time in Taiwan. Overall, this was one of the best trips
for me.
Liu: My favorite part of the trip was probably the meal we
shared with the Guardsmen. After a long day touring the island and learning
about both the role of the Taiwanese Coast Guard as well as the history of
Kinmen, it was nice to kick back and relax with our new friends and just chat
about our lives. We also tried many local Kinmen foods, like skewers, rice
porridge, and Kinmen gaoliang liquor, a local favorite. It was an enjoyable
night, and I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to share it with both
local friends and HNC classmates.
It seems that Lucas and Derek had a wonderful time on the island,
exploring the local food and learning a great deal about Kinmen’s perspective
on Strait relations. From reading their answers, you can get a sense of the
hidden gem that is Kinmen Islands. It has definitely inspired me to find
opportunities to visit the island one day.
Lucas Liu is from San Francisco, California and is a Boren
Fellow. Derek Chuah is from New York City, and his concentration is on China
Studies and Security, Strategy, and Statecraft. Both Lucas and Derek are
MAIR+HNC Certificate students who graduated in June 2023.
Written by Betty Thai, MAIR+HNC Certificate 2023
