Kinmen, Taiwan – On a seashore in Taiwan, Liu Xijiu places on his goggles and prepares to cross probably the most harmful our bodies of water on the planet.
Initially from Beijing, he was competing in the one occasion of its sort, a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) swim via geopolitical sizzling spots from the Kinmen Islands off the coast of Taiwan to town of Xiamen on China’s east coast.
Round him, 200 athletes from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau had been chatting and laughing as they warmed up. Earlier than them, past the rows of anti-intrusion spikes on Kinmen’s golden seashores, Xiamen’s distinctive skyscrapers shimmered within the morning solar.
However the heat climate and a way of pleasant rivalry masks rising tensions throughout the Taiwan Strait that separate democratic Taiwan from China, which claims the island as its personal.
Because the swimmers put together to finish the grueling 90-minute crossing, they hope their friendship can function a mannequin for smoother communication in these uneven waters.
Wu Zengyun, CEO of the Kinmen Joint Service Middle, instructed Al Jazeera that Kinmen and its residents have all the time had shut ties with China.
Though Wu’s office is now an area department of Taiwan’s central administrative company, the constructing retains the identify “Fujian Provincial Authorities.” The majestic entrance is embellished with gold lettering, recalling a time when Kinmen was a part of China’s Fujian Province.
“My uncles used to do enterprise in Tong’an on the mainland,” Wu mentioned, referring to the historic district that may be seen throughout the ocean from exterior his workplace.
“It is a shared dwelling space,” he added. “You simply go to the dock, board the boat sure for Tong’an and pay the fare.”
However after the Chinese language Civil Battle led to 1949, all the things modified. Confronted with the defeat of the Communist Social gathering, the Nationalist Authorities of the Republic of China fled Beijing and established its personal regime in Taiwan. It additionally retains management of the Kinmen Islands, greater than 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Taipei.
Remoted from the province to which they as soon as belonged, the island’s residents quickly discovered themselves on the entrance traces of a political battle between Taipei and Beijing that generally erupted into violence.
China frequently bombarded the island till 1979, and residents bear in mind hiding in bunkers dotted across the island, looking for cowl as bombs rained down on their villages.
In its 2022 white paper, China reiterated its willingness to make use of power to manage Taiwan, a territory that Taiwan considers its personal.
Tensions rise
Legislator Chen Yuzhen, standing on the Shuitou Ferry Terminal in Kinmen, mentioned her father boarded one of many first ships to reconnect Kinmen with China in 2001.
On the time, there have been hopes that the connection would assist enhance relations between Taipei and Beijing, however as Chen walked towards the departure gate, able to comply with in his father’s footsteps, that hope had but to materialize.
In mid-February, Taiwan’s coast guard clashed with a Chinese language vessel fishing in Kinmen waters, and Kinmen as soon as once more turned the main target of cross-strait tensions. Two fishermen died.
To make issues worse, the Chinese language ship was discovered to have capsized after colliding with a Taiwanese vessel, a proven fact that Taipei initially ignored in its report of the incident.
In response, the Chinese language Coast Guard, which is not directly underneath the command of the Central Army Fee in Beijing, has stepped up its presence within the space.
Looking on the chaotic waters from his boat, native fisherman and enterprise proprietor Lu Wenxiong mentioned the impression was already being felt by the fishing neighborhood.
“When cross-strait relations weren’t too tense, we had good relations with fishermen off the coast of the mainland,” he recalled. “If mainland fishermen have a very good catch, they may share it with us.”
However as CCG vessels started to frequently enter Kinmen’s territorial waters (a line that had been revered till February), Lu now confronted stress from Chinese language vessels whilst his ship was crusing near the Kinmen coast.
“There have been vital modifications within the actions of the Chinese language Coast Guard. They now frequently patrol our waters.
CCG even boarded a Taiwanese cruise ship in February, an unprecedented transfer. Three months later, it introduced for the primary time a collection of navy workout routines round Kinmen.
“We frequently encounter them each time we exit to sea,” fisherman Lu mentioned, citing the CCG. “I have been chased 3 times this yr.”
In early July, a Taiwanese fishing boat carrying two Taiwanese and three Indonesians was additionally seized by the Chinese language Coast Guard and brought to the mainland, accused of violating the summer season fishing ban. The ship’s captain stays underneath investigation, however the crew had been launched this week.
“Some fishermen working close by are anxious that any errors may result in their boats being impounded,” Kinmen County Councilor Dong Senbao instructed Al Jazeera.
Whereas analysts say the Chinese language intrusion is a part of Beijing’s “grey zone” technique to put stress on Taipei, some in Kinmen fear concerning the potential danger of escalation and sudden battle.
Wu of the Kinmen Joint Service Middle mentioned recognizing and respecting Kinmen’s restricted waters “is essential to sustaining peace.” “If China unilaterally denies it, it should enhance the chance of battle.”
“If the border power, coast guard and coast police battle within the efficiency of their duties… it might result in pointless disputes and accidents, and will result in navy conflicts, which is detrimental to each events,” Councilor Dong mentioned.
glimmer of hope
Regardless of the unrest attributable to the fishermen’s deaths, some nonetheless hope that Kinmen can as soon as once more turn out to be a spot for cross-strait cooperation, noting that there’s a diploma of “goodwill” between the native governments on the island and Xiamen.
On July 30, the Taipei Strait Alternate Basis (SEF), a semi-official group accountable for selling cross-strait cooperation, lastly reached an settlement with related Chinese language authorities to repatriate the our bodies of the Chinese language fishermen whose deaths led to the unique incident. Tensions elevated in Might and he returned to the mainland.
With the boys’s stays now being flown again to China, some are hoping tensions will ease.
A former Taiwanese soldier detained in March after his boat strayed into Chinese language waters was additionally launched this month.
Again at Kinmen Seashore, Chinese language swimmer Liu stood facet by facet with Taiwanese swimmers, going through the Chinese language coast.
For him and lots of different Chinese language swimmers, the meet marked their first time in Taiwan.
Just like the race’s organizers, the swimmers hope the occasion will function a mannequin for collaborative efforts and diplomatic progress.
“Sports activities occasions like this assist promote connections between folks,” he mentioned. “I hope either side can resolve the problem peacefully.”
As quickly because the departure horn sounded, he plunged into the waves, struggled to interrupt via the water, and headed for Xiamen.
“Up to now, the ocean was a battlefield between Kinmen and Xiamen. They fought with bullets. When she was rising up, the Kinmen coast was strictly off-limits and for navy use solely.
“Now the ocean is a peaceable place. Individuals can swim throughout it and again,” she mentioned.
