De-mining efforts to make Taiwan’s Kinmen island more tourist-friendly
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Taiwan’s Kinmen Island was once in the cross fire of hostilities between both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Now with warming ties, plans are now underway to make the island more tourist-friendly.
The shores of Kinmen Island were carpeted with mines during the peak of hostilities, following the civil war of 1949.
A rise in tourism prompted Taiwan to order its military to remove all unexploded ordnances, by 2013.
Armed with metal detectors, soldiers move carefully to find the many landmines that litter Taiwan’s furthest outpost.
“This is to meet the need of humanitarian de-mining and local development. We are confident that we can wrap it up on time,” said Lieutenant General Lou Hsiao-rung, Commander of Kinmen Defence Command.
Five landmine experts from a Singapore company are serving as consultants to the team. Authorities are confident the island will be free of landmines in another four years.
Comments are closed.