Tungchu

1. THE EMBASSY HAS JUST LEARNED THAT ADMIRAL SOONG, CHIEF OF GS, MND, HAS INFORMED COMUSTDC BY LETTER DATED MAY 9 (NOT RECEIVED UNTIL MAY 18) THAT ON APRIL 30, A FLIGHT OF FOUR PRC FIGHTER AIRCRAFT FLYING AT 20,000 FEET AND 450 NM/PER HOUR "INTRUDED INTO THE AIRSPACE OF TUNGCHU AND HSICHU OF OUR MATSU AREA". SOONG FURTHER ADVISED THAT "THE INTRUDING AIRCRAFT THEN ESCAPED UPON THE FIRING OF OUR ADA UNITS". SOONG INTERPRETS INCIDENT AS MANIFESTING PRC INTENT "TO MAKE PROVOCATIONS"; AND THAT "THIS PROVOCATIVE ACT MIGHT LEAD TO SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE AND ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR MUTUAL DEFENSE POSTURE". SOONG ASKS COMUSTDC TO "TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTIONS IN ORDER TO PREVENT ESCALATION OF THE STRAINED SITUATION IN THE TAIWAN STRAITS".

1977 June, “REPORTED GROC ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRING AT PRC AIRCRAFT IN VICINITY OF MATSU”, in Department of State Cable, numbers 1977-127151, published 2009, page 1

In the morning I had a discussion with military leaders, then left for Hsichu, where I was brief­ed by the commander and visited the troops.[…] At noon I called at Chingfan Village and saw that living conditions were much improved. Every family has vegetables and frequently meat. I took a boat across the strait to Tungchu.

1980 August 1 [1980 July 19], Ching-kuo Chiang, “President Chiang Ching-kuo continues his period of mourning and finds that visits to countryside and people give him renewed strength”, in Taiwan Today, archived from the original on 17 May 2020

The archipelago's Kaoteng Island lies a mere 9,250 metres from the mainland's Peijiao peninsula, while Tungchu island at the extreme southeast of the archipelago is all of 114 nautical miles distant from Keelung, Taiwan.

1985, 勝利之光, 新中國出版社, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 24, column 1

On outlying islands controlled by Taiwan, people started evacuating homes in case the missile tests escalate into something nastier. On Tungchu Island, for example, only 20 of the original 100 inhabitants are left. Rice is unavailable, and the streets are patrolled by soldiers in full combat and chemical weapon gear.

1996 March 9, Ian Johnson, “Taiwan tries to stand tall But residents rush to secure property; some prepare to flee”, in The Baltimore Sun, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Jun 2021, News

"We are leaving for Taiwan to escape disaster," said a schoolgirl from the island of Tong Chu, near Matsu and just 10 nautical miles away from the area of the Chinese war games. Taiwan television stations carried film of the mini-evacuation, but also noted that a number of residents were choosing to stay in their homes.

[1996 March 18, Patrick Tyler, “China Warns U.S. to Keep Away From Taiwan Strait”, in New York Times, archived from the original on 26 May 2015