History
The development of Matsu began in the 1400s with the arrival of Fujianese mainlanders escaping political turmoil in their homeland. Later, the migrant waves of the 1600s from mainland China to Taiwan saw an increase in Matsu’s population as boatloads of Fujianese fishermen arrived on the island. They brought with them the language, food, architecture and religious beliefs of their ancestors, much of which is still around today.
Throughout the 1700s and 1800s piracy plagued the islands, causing residents at various times to temporarily abandon their homes to seek shelter elsewhere. Matsu was largely politically insignificant until the Nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949 and established Matsu, along with Kinmen, as a front-line defense against the communists. Matsu residents saw their quiet islands transformed into battlefields and had to adjust to the constant threat of war. The Mainland bombed Matsu intermittently until the deployment of the US 7th Fleet in 1958 prevented any further escalation.
Martial law was lifted from Matsu in 1992, a number of years after it was lifted over in ‘mainland’ Taiwan. In 2001, Matsu (along with Kinmen) became an early stepping stone in cross-Strait travel when the ‘Three Small Links’ policy was instituted, permitting limited trade and limited travel between ROC- and PRC-controlled territory. Today, people in Matsu are permitted to travel freely between their islands and ports in Fujian, and many Taiwanese businesspeople use Matsu as a way station between Taiwan and the Mainland (though not as many go through Kinmen, which has better infrastructure and is close to Xiamen).
