On Taiwan's outlying Kinmen Islands, President Lai Ching-te leads memorials marking the 66th anniversary of the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. The conflict left hundreds dead and was the last major battle between China and Taiwan.
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00:00Praying for those that died for their country.
00:06Taiwan's President Lai Ching-de leads a memorial for what's known as the Second Taiwan Strait
00:11Crisis, the last major battle between China and Taiwan 66 years ago.
00:30Hundreds died here on Taiwan's Jinmen Islands that lie just kilometres from the Chinese
00:51coast.
00:54The Chinese Communists hoped their 1958 offensive would be a stepping stone to taking the rest
00:59of Taiwan and finishing off the nationalists that had retreated there after losing the
01:04Chinese Civil War in 1949.
01:10All across these islands, cemeteries, bullet holes, craters and military bunkers are clear
01:14reminders of China's attempts to take this land by force. Though people here fought off
01:19China's invasion more than 60 years ago, China never renounced its claims to Jinmen and the
01:24rest of Taiwan. Now these islands are once again finding themselves on the front line
01:29of China's aggression.
01:32China has been sending fishing boats and coast guard vessels into waters here.
01:44Normalising its presence in areas administered by Taiwan and chipping away at its sovereignty.
01:49Lai, who was elected earlier this year, strongly rejects Beijing's narrative and says the country
01:55must be prepared to defend itself once again from its belligerent neighbour.
01:59Lai's anti-China message doesn't necessarily resonate in Jinmen. People here generally
02:04prefer closer ties with China. But this trip to Jinmen, on a particularly sensitive date
02:09for both sides of the strait, is the closest he's got to China since he took office.
02:14Lai's visit also challenges the People's Republic of China's claim that Jinmen, like
02:21the rest of Taiwan, comes under their jurisdiction. He's showing that he can do whatever he wants
02:27within Taiwan's jurisdiction, and there's nothing that Beijing can do about it.
02:31In Jinmen, Lai is telling his fellow countrymen that the sacrifices made to defend Taiwan
02:36will not be forgotten. But his presence here also sends another message to China, that
02:42he is the leader of a country resolute in standing up for its freedom.
02:47Chris Ma and Rick Lowatt in Jinmen for Taiwan Plus.
02:51For more UN videos visit www.un.org