Penghu

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Flag of Penghu County.png
Penghu County emblem.png
Penghu County
澎湖縣
Abbreviation(s): Penghu (澎湖)
Taiwan ROC political division map Penghu County.svg
County seatMagong City
RegionTaiwan Strait
County MagistrateChien-fa Wang (王乾發)
Cities1
Townships5
Area
- Total141.052 km²
(22 of 25)
- % water0 %
Population
- Total93,446 (January 2009)
(23 of 25)
- Density662.49/km²
Symbols
- County flowerFirewheel (Gaillardia pulchella)
- County treeChinese Banyan (Ficus microcarpa)
- County birdSmall Skylark (Alauda gulgula)
Official websiteswww.penghu.gov.tw

The Penghu islands (traditional Chinese: 澎湖群島; Hanyu Pinyin: Pénghú Qúndăo; Tongyong Pinyin: Pénghú Cyúndăo; Wade-Giles: P'eng-Hu Ch'ün-Tao; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Phêⁿ-ô·-kûn-tó, also known as Pescadores from the Portuguese, meaning "fishermen", Portuguese pronunciation: [pɨʃkɐˈðoɾɨʃ]) are an archipelago off the western coast of Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait consisting of 90 small islands and islets covering an area of 141 square kilometers. The whole archipelago forms Penghu County, Taiwan Province, Republic of China.

Contents

[edit] History

'Peng-hu' was first recorded in unofficial historical records and regional logs in 1171 during the Southern Song Dynasty[1]. From the middle of the 17th century to 1895, Taiwan and the archipelago were ruled by pirates, the colonial Dutch Empire, the Koxinga kingdom, and the Qing Dynasty (Manchu), successively.

[edit] Sino-French War

The Penghu archipelago was captured by the French in March 1885, in the closing weeks of the Sino-French War, and evacuated four months later. The Pescadores Campaign was the last campaign of Admiral Amédée Courbet, whose naval victories during the war had made him a national hero in France. Courbet was among several French soldiers and sailors who succumbed to cholera during the French occupation of Penghu. He died aboard his flagship Bayard in Magong harbour on 11 June 1885.[2]

[edit] First Sino-Japanese War

Defeated in northern China by the Japanese in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing government ceded the islands to Japan along with Taiwan in the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Shimonoseki of April 1895. The Japanese suspected that they might meet resistance when they attempted to occupy Taiwan, and their invasion of Taiwan, hastily launched in late May 1895 in response to the proclamation of the Republic of Formosa, was preceded by an attack on Qing forces on Penghu in March 1895, in which the Japanese defeated the Chinese garrison of the islands and occupied Makung. The Japanese occupation of Penghu prevented more Chinese troops from being sent to Taiwan, persuaded the Chinese negotiators at Shimonoseki that Japan was determined to annex Taiwan, and helped to ensure the success of the subsequent Japanese invasion of Taiwan.[3]

[edit] Cairo Declaration

In the Cairo Declaration of 1943, the United States, United Kingdom, and China stated it to be their purpose that "all the territories that Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Formosa (Taiwan) and the Pescadores (Penghu), shall be restored to the Republic of China."

On July 26, 1945, the three governments issued the Potsdam Declaration, declaring that "the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out." In the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan renounced sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu but left their final disposition unsettled. The archipelago has been administered by the Republic of China since the Retrocession Day (October 25, 1945) as part of its Taiwan Province.

In the early 1990s the Penghu National Scenic Area that comprises most but not all of the islands and islets of the archipelago was created. Tourism has since become one of the main sources of income of the county.

A disaster struck on May 25, 2002 when a Boeing 747-200 aircraft operated by China Airlines as China Airlines Flight 611 flying from Taipei, Taiwan to Hong Kong disintegrated and then exploded over the Islands and its wreckage slammed into the Taiwan Strait a couple of miles off coast. All 225 passengers and crew on board were killed. CNN referred to the crash as the "Taiwan Tragedy."[4]

[edit] Sub-county divisions

Subdivision of Penghu County

Altogether, there are 97 villages.

The main islands of Magong City/Husi Township, Baisha Township, and Siyu Township are the three most populous islands and are connected via bridges. Two shorter bridges connect Husi and Baisha. The bridge connecting Baisha and Siyu is the longest bridge in Republic of China and is called the Penghu Trans-Oceanic Bridge (澎湖跨海大橋 Peng Hu Kua Hai Da Qiao).

[edit] Miscellaneous facts

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (September 2008)

[edit] See also

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ THE FOOTPRINTS OF THE ANCIENT PEOPLE
  2. ^ Loir, 291–317
  3. ^ Takekoshi, 80–2
  4. ^ "China Airlines safety record in the spotlight," CNN
  5. ^ Lee HC, Niu KC, Huang KL, Tsai JD, Shyu RK, Shiraki K, Hong SK, Lin YC (June 1994). "Diving pattern of fishermen in the Pescadores". Undersea Hyperb Med 21 (2): 145–58. PMID 8061556. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/2164. Retrieved 2008-06-19.

[edit] References

  • Loir, M., L'escadre de l'amiral Courbet (Paris, 1886)
  • Yosaburo Takekoshi, Japanese Rule in Formosa (London, 1907)

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
Administrative divisions of the Republic of China
Taiwan Area
Provinces and
counties
Provincial cities
Central municipalities
Note: On December 25, 2010 the pink highlighted administrative divisions are scheduled in restructuring or merger into Central municipalities status. See the various entries.
v • d • e
Cities and townships in the outlying islands of the Republic of China
County seats are in Bold
Taiwan
Location of Penghu, Kinmen, Lienchiang Counties
Fujian

Coordinates: 23°35′N 119°35′E / 23.583°N 119.583°E / 23.583; 119.583

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