Identity Crisis on Kinmen Island - Tyler Whitney 1

thousands of Kinmen residents who grew up in Xiamen Identity Crisis on Kinmen and vice-versa, thus further complicating the question of Island identity. Without making any bold predictions, we saw in the case Tyler Whitney of Crimean secession that national identity is a useful ingredient for annexation. Nationalism uses national identity to justify political action. The seemingly uncertain 09/08/2018 national identity of Kinmen likely worries the Taiwanese government about its future sway over this key territory, and breeds increasing mistrust between both sides of the Strait.

A ferry boat from Taiwan-controlled Kinmen takes tourists to get a look at the Xiamen coast.

By: Tyler Whitney

Kinmen (or Jinmen) County is an island just one mile from Xiamen, a major Chinese port city. However, Kinmen County has been governed by Taiwan since the end of the civil war in 1949. As you can read here, national identity is not so simple for residents of Kinmen to pin down. This is an intriguing case study on the nature of national identity since Kinmen is recognized by both governments as a part of Taiwan, even though China considers Taiwan itself a renegade province.

Kinmen’s elected magistrate Mr. Chen echoed the complaints of many Kinmenese, that the Taiwanese government had always neglected them. He referred to China as ‘the mainland’, a signal of support for the One China Policy, and described Xiamen as ‘democratic’ and ‘open’. The question is why the leader of Taiwanese county would speak so favorably of China. There are differences between Kinmen and the rest of Taiwan that strain their relationship. Kinmen never experienced Japanese occupation, an event that unifies the rest of Taiwan. Kinmen is on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, and the major Chinese port city of Xiamen is just a ferry ride away. A proposed bridge between Kinmen and a new Xiamen airport would physically connect the island to China. Economically, Kinmen's dependence on China is always increasing. China recently opened a new water pipeline into Kinmen that will provide it with 30% of its tap water. It's also natural for Kinmenese to own property in Xiamen and do business in China, and people often have close family on both sides, as migration between the two is such a common occurrence. That means there are