Taiwan Strait

The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) governments in which the PRC was accused by Taiwan of shelling the islands of Matsu and Quemoy first in the Taiwan Strait. Download high resolution version (681x800, 206 KB)Clean up from Image:Taiwan Straits. ... Download high resolution version (681x800, 206 KB)Clean up from Image:Taiwan Straits. ... The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國; Simplified Chinese: 中华民国; Wade-Giles: Chung-hua Min-kuo, Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó, Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó, Taiwanese POJ: Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok) is a multiparty democratic state that is effectively composed of the island groups of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Quemoy... Matsu can refer to: Matsu, a goddess of sea. ... Quemoy, Kinmen, or Chinmen (金門, pinyin: Jīnmén, POJ: Kim-mn̂g) (pop. ... Taiwan Strait Area The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait is a 180km-wide Strait between mainland China and the island of Taiwan. ...

It started with the 823 Artillery Bombardment (Traditional Chinese: 八二三炮戰; Simplified Chinese: 八二三炮战; pinyin: bāèrsān pàozhàn) at 5:30PM on August 23, 1958, when People's Liberation Army forces began an intense artillery bombardment of the Quemoy. ROC forces in Quemoy dug in and returned fire. In the subsequent bombardment roughly 400 ROC troops were killed and an unknown number on the PRC side. August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

This was a continuation of the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, which had started immediately after the Korean War. Chiang Kai Shek had began to build on the two islands of Matsu and Quemoy. In 1954, Taiwan shelled the PRC focusing most of the attack on Quemoy. In response the People's Liberation Army (PLA) began shelling Quemoy and Matsu. Taiwan Strait The First Taiwan Strait Crisis (also called the 1954-1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis) was a short armed conflict that took place between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) governments. ... The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁/韓國戰爭), from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887–April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ...

The Eisenhower Administration responded to Taiwan's request for aid according to its obligations in the 1954 US-ROC defense treaty by reinforcing US naval units and ordering US naval vessels to help the Nationalist government protect Quemoy's supply lines. Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ...

The Soviet Union dispatched its foreign minister, Andrei Gromyko, to Beijing to discuss China's actions. A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the governmental foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ... Andrei Andreyevitch Gromyko (Андре́й Андре́евич Громы́ко) (July 18 (July 5, Old Style), 1909 – July 2, 1989) was foreign minister and chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. ... Beijing   listen? (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking) is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

This situation in 1958 continued for 44 days and took approximately 1,000 lives. Faced with a stalemate, the PRC called a unilateral ceasefire on October 6 at the urging of the Soviet Union. Beijing issued a “Message to the Compatriots in Taiwan” in the name of Defense Minister Peng Dehuai, however the message was actually drafted by Mao Zedong. The message called for a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue and called for all Chinese to unite against the "American plot to divide China". Stalemate is a term that originated in chess, that is very widely used metaphorically in other situations where there is conflict or contest between two parties, such as war or political negotiations. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in Leap years). ... Péng Déhuái (T. Chinese: 彭德懷, S. Chinese: 彭德怀, Wade-Giles: Peng Te-huai) (1898 - November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader. ... Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976; Mao Tse-Tung in Wade-Giles) was the chairman of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China from 1943 and the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1945 until his death. ...

Afterwards, both sides continued to bombard each other with shells containing propaganda leaflets on alternate days of the week. This strange informal arrangement continued until the normalization of ties between the US and PRC in 1979.

The question of "Matsu and Quemoy" became an issue in the 1960 American Presidential election when Richard Nixon accused John F. Kennedy of being unwilling to commit to using nuclear weapons if the People's Republic of China invaded the Nationalist outposts. The New York Times front page from two days after the election: November 10, 1960. ... Order: 37th President Vice President: Spiro Agnew (1969–1973), Gerald R. Ford (1973–1974) Term of office: January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974 Preceded by: Lyndon B. Johnson Succeeded by: Gerald R. Ford Date of birth: January 9, 1913 Place of birth: Yorba Linda, California Date of death: April 22... Order: 35th President Vice President: Lyndon B. Johnson Term of office: January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963 Preceded by: Dwight D. Eisenhower Succeeded by: Lyndon B. Johnson Date of birth: May 29, 1917 Place of birth: Brookline, Massachusetts Date of death: November 22, 1963 Place of death: Dallas, Texas First... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ...

The PRC fired around 450,000 shells at the Quemoy islands in the conflict. The shells have become a natural resource of steel for the local economy. Since the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, Quemoy has become famous for its production of cleavers made from PRC bomb shells. A blacksmith in Quemoy generally produces 60 cleavers from one bomb shell. Tourists often purchase Quemoy Cleavers as souvenirs together with other local products. Cleavers made on Quemoy from the shells fired from the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of mainland China. ...

See also

• First Taiwan Strait Crisis
• Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
• List of battles over Quemoy
• Chinese Civil War
• Military of the Republic of China

Taiwan Strait The First Taiwan Strait Crisis (also called the 1954-1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis) was a short armed conflict that took place between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) governments. ... Taiwan Strait 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 Peoples Republic of China in the waters surrounding Taiwan including the Taiwan Strait from July 21... As one of the front line islands between the Republic of China and the Peoples Republic of China, ROC-occupied Quemoy has seen many battles and tensions between the two throughout the Cold War. ... The Chinese Civil War was a conflict in China between the Kuomintang (The Nationalist Party; The Nationalists; KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). ... The Republic of China (ROC) maintains a large military establishment, which accounted for 16. ...

External links

• http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/quemoy_matsu-2.htm
• Mao Zedong's handling of the Taiwan Straits Crisis of 1958
• Khrushchev's Nuclear Promise to Beijing During the 1958 Crisis
• First and Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, Quemoy and Matsu Islands of Taiwan from the Cold War Museum