President Lai Ching-te visited a military cemetery on Taiwan's outlying Kinmen Islands to honor those who fought in the Battle of Guningtou in 1949, one of the most important battles in the history of modern Taiwan.
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00:00President Lai Ching-da has come here to this military cemetery on Taiwan's outlying Jinmen
00:05Islands to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Gu Ming-to, fought here 75 years
00:09ago, and to honor those who fought and died there.
00:12I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the veterans and former members of the
00:21Kinmen Self-Defense Force.
00:26The battle took place on the Jinmen Islands just 10 kilometers from the Chinese mainland,
00:31as forces of the Republic of China, or ROC, were fleeing from China to the island of Taiwan
00:36after losing the Chinese Civil War.
00:38In the early hours of October 25th, 1949, forces of the Communist People's Liberation
00:44Army were discovered as they attempted to land an invading force on Jinmen, leading
00:48to a disastrous defeat for Communist forces after two days of fighting.
00:52The battle is an important one for both sides, and plays a central role in the story of the
00:57ROC on Taiwan's founding, as it ensured the Communist forces would not launch an effective
01:02attack on Taiwan, Lai Ching-da saying the battle paved the way for today's democratic
01:08Taiwan.
01:09The Battle of Gu Ming-to made us realize that democracy and freedom are not taken for granted,
01:15but are something that generations of people need to work together to protect.
01:19We cherish the way of life of democracy and freedom, and we will not let any foreign force
01:27change the future of the Taiwan Strait.
01:30To this day, Jinmen remains on the front line between Taiwan and China, often a place of
01:34rare cross-strait friendship, but also increasing tensions, with Chinese ships sailing ever
01:39closer to the islands.
01:41President Lai's trip today, a tribute to those who fought to protect Taiwan, and a
01:45reminder of the threat still posed by Taiwan's giant neighbor.
01:49John Su and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.