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Kinmen bunkers honored with festival, documentary

To Kinmen County Commissioner Lee Chu-feng (李炷鋒), seeing the military bunkers everywhere on the island is an emotional matter.

"They [the bunkers] protected us from China's attacks," he said, "But to some, they were also the places where family members died."

Lee said that these bunkers were mostly built around civilian villages where they provided the best cover. He said that while the enemy often targeted the bunkers and aimed to destroy them, many civilians were killed.

Lee added that sacrifices made by Kinmen and its civilians during the 823 Artillery War helped preserve Taiwan, but many have forgotten this part of history.

The 1958 exchange lasted forty-four days and saw approximately 475,000 artillery shells land on Kinmen, an island measuring just 148km2.

"How would you feel if I picked a fight with someone, and we chose your house as the battleground?" Lee asked.

Lee's remarks set a nostalgic tone for the Kinmen Bunker Art Festival, scheduled to kick off this weekend in Kinmen.

Over the next few weeks, several works by Kinmen artists will be on display outside bunkers in Changliao (長寮).

Wu Huei-ming (吳惠民), for example, used local wood to create the artistic piece A View Colored with Blood (血染的風采).

The creator said the work is intended to portray the imagery of anti-landing operations during wartime.

P.Y. Ouyang (歐陽柏燕), another Kinmen artist, wrote poetry describing how people in Kinmen overcame the hardship in the post-war years to eventually resume a normal life.

"Bunkers usually give people the impression of being cold and austere architecture. These works help soften that image and convey anti-war messages," she said.

Besides the artistic work, a series of events will also be held in nearby villages during the festival.

Lee also announced that a unique documentary on the traditional and wartime cultural heritage of Kinmen will be shown in six cities across the nation.

Lee made the announcement at a press conference held in Taipei yesterday to launch the documentary and four books.

The documentary was produced through a joint effort between Kinmen County's Cultural Affairs Bureau and documentary director Peter Tang (唐振瑜).

Tang called himself "half a Kinmen local" as he has spent much of his past 20 years making films in Kinmen and thus is very familiar with the local culture.

Located just a few kilometers from Xiamen in China, Kinmen is "has some of the best-preserved Minnan culture in the country," said Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀), secretary-general of the National Cultural Association.

Large Minnan-style buildings, villages and religious rituals still exist and are well-preserved in Kinmen, Tchen said.

In addition, because of its strategic location, Kinmen was an important military stronghold during the Cold War and hence a unique "frontier culture" developed there.

"Of course we'd also like to invite more people to visit Kinmen to see its beauty and uniqueness," Lee said.
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