Dongding Island has been known by a variety of names including: Dongding,[5]Tangtia,[13]Tungting Tao, Tungting Hsu, Chapel Island,[14][15]Tung Ting Island,[16]Dong Ding,[4]Tung-Ting,[17]Tung-ting-seu,[18]Tungting Island,[19]Dongding Islet,[20]Dongdingdao,[21]Dongdingdao Island,[22] and Tung-ting Tao.
History
I. Tangtia (colored pink) on a map of Fujian (1600s)
The island's mountains were sighted during the Ming treasure voyages on the evening of June 26, 1433.[23]
In January 1867, Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet wrote, "It is proposed to put a Light on Chapel Island, the sea mark for vessels bound to Amoy. This light will also be useful to casting vessels generally, as it will remind them of the proximity of the Meriope shoal."[24]
According to a plaque affixed to the lighthouse, the lighthouse was designed by David Marr Henderson (韓得善)[20] and built by A. M. Bisbee in 1871.[19][25] The lighthouse is round and painted black.[26] The lighthouse was referred to as the Chapel Island Light.[27] In good weather, the light was expected to be visible from twenty-two miles away.[28] The lighthouse was renovated in 1913 and 1927.[29]
In September 1954, it was noted in top secret American intelligence documents declassified in August 2000 that Nationalist guerrillas from Quemoy had gone to Tungting Island.[30]
When an American journalist visited the island in the early 1950s, the Nationalists kept the light dark so that it would be difficult for ships to enter enemy ports. The lighthouse's color was white at that time. During this period, officers on duty on the island were ideally supposed to be rotated out every six months and guerrillas every two months with supply ship visits once a week. These periodic visits and changes were often delayed by weather and enemy activity. Fifty men were stationed on the island at that time under the command of Captain Chang Yi Ming. According to Captain Chang, attempted landings on the island by communist forces had been fended off by throwing grenades over the cliff.[19]
On August 24 and 25, 1958 during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, Chinese Communist and Chinese Nationalist forces clashed in the vicinity of the island. The action was seen as an attempt by the communists to land on the island.[31][17][32][33][34][35] The action has also been seen as an attempt to draw Nationalist forces away from other areas.[36]
(...) on the 24th two night naval engagements took place near Quemoy. The clashes resulted from a Chinese Communist attempt at landing on the small island of Tung-Ting in the Quemoy complex. The first attack involved four Chinese Communist gunboats and six small landing craft while the second involved five Chinese Communist gunboats and thirty motorized junks. According to the GRCMinistry of National Defense, several enemy ships were sunk and the attack was driven off by seven Chinese Nationalist Patrol craft. The GRC lost one LSM (landing craft, mechanized) and had one LST (landing ship, tank) damaged. Prior to September 3, when they were advised of U. S. escort plans, the Nationalists made five attempts to land an LST with troop replacements and several ships. These efforts were turned back by Chinese Communist PT boats and artillery fire.[17]
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In September 1958, the island was included in an official statement on the delineation of the territorial waters of China.[37][38]
Tung-ting Hsü (Dongding Island) "The Nationalist-held islands off the Chinese mainland are nominally a part of Fukien Province, but are presently under military administration." (1962)
The lighthouse was repaired in 1964 after being damaged by artillery bombardment from the mainland.[15][29]
In 1968, Chen Ching-Hu (陳慶虎), then 17, was given the job of lighthouse keeper on the island. Later, he would go back and forth between Dongding Island and Beiding Island maintaining the lighthouses at both places. He retired in 2016 at age 65 and lives on Kinmen Island.[39]
On September 8, 1978, a butchers group from Jinhu visited Dongding Island and Beiding Island to bring gifts to the soldiers there. They wished the soldiers a happy upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival.[40]
In March 1996, during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, Dongding Island was assessed as one of the targets of the CPLA's military harassment or seizure.[41]
In 2005, after being completely off-limits to civilians for five decades, the island was to be transferred from military control to the administration of Kinmen County government.[25]
Map including the lighthouse on Dongding Island (labeled as 'Light') (AMS, 1954)Map including the lighthouse on Dongding Island (labeled as (LIGHT)) (AMS, 1954)
On June 10, 2013, Pan Chia-Yu (潘家宇), the leader of the ROC Kinmen Defense Command, visited the soldiers on Dongding Island ahead of Dragon Boat Festival.[42]
On July 18, 2019, Ho Cheng (賀政), the new leader of the ROC Army Kinmen Defense Command (陸軍金門防衛指揮部), visited the soldiers on Dongding Island.[43]
On the night of May 24, 2020, Chinese sand mining ship Haishunda 069 (海順達069號) overturned and sank in or near the restricted waters south of Dongding Island.[44]
Geography
Dongding Island is about 13 km (8.1 mi) off the mainland coast and 25 km (16 mi) south-southwest of Kinmen.[15]
The island has been described as "a bare rock, miles from any land".[45] It is 55 meters high with steep cliffs. The top of the island is grassy. The south end of the island is linked to the rest of the island by a small strip of land. Nearby shipwrecks are unmarked and treacherous to navigation.[46]
There are no trees, and sheer cliffs surround the island. There were rabbits on the island in the early 1950s. A zig-zagging stairway leads from a small concrete jetty to the summit area. The island has machine gun nests and rifle pits. There is a courtyard next to the lighthouse and old light-keeper's house. There is a basketball court and there are buildings that were built for the soldiers.[19]
The Dongding Island Lighthouse is the westernmost lighthouse in Taiwan (ROC).[7]
^金門縣土地段名代碼表 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Department of Land Administration. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2019. 地政事務所名稱(代碼) 金門(WA) 鄉鎮市區名稱(代碼) 金湖鎮(01){...}段 小段 代碼 備註{...}東碇 0257 調整
^"kinmen awareness". Kinmen County Government. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2019. In addition to the main island, Kinmen covers another 12 islets, such as Dadan, Erdan, Dongding, Beiding, and the like. These islands are scattered around Kinmen proper like the stars surrounding the moon.
^轄區介紹. 基隆市中正區公所 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 23 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2019. 服務轄區包括：金城鎮、金湖鎮、金沙鎮、金寧鄉、烈嶼鄉、烏坵鄉等六個鄉鎮，以及金門本島（大金門）、烈嶼（小金門）、大膽、二膽、獅嶼、猛虎嶼、草嶼、後嶼、東碇島、復興嶼等十二個大小島嶼，{...}
^ ab"Geographic environment". Kinmen National Park. Kinmen National Park. 2014-06-11. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2019. Territory The 12 islands and islets comprising Kinmen mainland, Lieyu (small Kinmen), Da Dan, Er Dan, Dong Ding, Beiding, Cao islet, Hou islet, Jiangong islet, Fuxing islet, Menghu islet, Shi islet occupy an area of 150 square meters in total.
^ ab"Kinmen Shueitou Harbor District". National Fire Agency, Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 14 July 2019. Kinmen is located in Xiamen Bay on the southeast of Fujian Province at the exit of Jiulong River; the area for the entire county is 150.145 square kilometers (134.25 square kilometers for the island itself, and 12 other islands including Shangxia Lieyu, Dadan, Erdan, Wuqiu, Dongyin, Dongding and Beiding etc.)
^東椗島燈塔 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 15 June 2019.
^ ab守護燈塔 照亮烏坵 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 15 July 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2019. 目前臺灣地區所轄管之福建沿海燈塔者由北至南分別為馬祖之東引（東湧）燈塔、東莒（東犬）燈塔，金門的烏坵燈塔、北碇（北椗）島燈塔及東碇（東椗）島燈塔五座。{...}而值得一提的是，除烏坵燈塔外，金門的東碇與北碇島燈塔，目前均無文化資產身份，其中東碇島燈塔興建於1871年乃福建沿海五座燈塔中最古老者，
^金門縣概況 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1 October 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2019. 極南為東碇，東經118度13秒8分，北緯24度9秒48分；
^Britannica World Atlas International. 1967. p. 58. Tangtia
^Index to Map of China (2 ed.). Shanghai: Far Eastern Geographical Establishment. 1915. p. 6. Chapel Island ... ... 朝坡島 ... Fukien ... ... 24.10N 118.12E
^Mills, J. V. G. (1970). Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' [1433]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 17–18. ISBN0-521-01032-2.
^ ab"Kinmen seeks to develop six demilitarized islets". Taipei Times. 18 October 2004. Retrieved 14 June 2019. the county government will only take over the jurisdiction of the six islets -- Tatan, Ertan, Tungting, Peiting, Shihyu and Menghuyu -- but will not be responsible for defending them. After the transfer of the six islets, probably on Jan. 1,{....}the six islets have been purely military for more than five decades.{...}The Tungting lighthouse was built in 1871
^Reports on Trade at the Treaty Ports. 1880. pp. 120–121. Table 110.-LIST of CHINESE LIGHTHOUSES, LIGHT-VESSELS, BUOYS, and BEACONS, erected under the Foreign Inspectorate General of Customs, in the different Customs Districts. LIGHTS. {...}9 Amoy.........Chapel Island ........................ F. & Fl. {Fixed & Flashing}{...}Chapel Id Lt
^"REDS LOSE 2 JETS IN QUEMOY CLASH; SHELLING GOES ON". New York Times. Vol. 107, no. 36739. 26 August 1958. p. 1 – via Internet Archive. Red Landing Repulsed Earlier, the Defense Ministry declared the Chinese Reds had tried unsuccessfully Sunday night to land on tiny Tungting Island, eighteen miles southwest of Quemoy. A communiqué said Nationalist warships intercept- ed and drove off a Communist naval unit in a gun duel.
^五十七年~六十七年. 金門縣金湖鎮公所 Jinhu Township Administration, Kinmen County (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 28 July 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2019. 【民國六十二年】{...}九 月 八 日 金湖屠宰小組於中秋節前夕，前往東碇、北碇兩離島敬軍勞軍，提前向國軍弟兄賀節。
^Chang Chien-Teng 張建騰 (11 June 2013). 潘家宇指揮官赴東碇勞軍. Kinmen Daily News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 17 May 2020. 金門防衛指揮部指揮官潘家宇中將昨天到東碇島實施端節慰問，
^Chen Li-Yu 陳麗妤 (24 July 2019). 金防部指揮官走訪各離島探視官兵. Kinmen Daily News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 17 May 2020. 接續於18日走訪東碇島，視導守備部隊戰備與生活情形後，金防部指揮官賀政中將，
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