Penghu

Penghu Islands 澎湖縣
County
Penghu County
Flag Coat of arms of Penghu Islands Coat of arms
Coordinates:
Country	Taiwan
Province	Taiwan Province (streamlined)
Seat	Magong City
Largest city	Magong
Boroughs	1 city, 5 rural townships
Government
• County Magistrate	Chen Kuang-fu (DPP)
Area
• Total	141.052 km2 (54.460 sq mi)
Area rank	22 of 22
Population (December 2014)
• Total	101,758
• Rank	21 of 22
• Density	720/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zone	CST (UTC+8)
Website	www.penghu.gov.tw
Symbols
Bird	Small Skylark (Alauda gulgula)
Flower	Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella)
Tree	Chinese Banyan (Ficus microcarpa)

Penghu Islands
Traditional Chinese	澎湖群島
Simplified Chinese	澎湖群岛
Postal	Pescadores Islands
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Pénghú Qúndǎo Tongyong Pinyin Pénghú Cyúndǎo Wade–Giles P'eng2-hu2 Ch'ün2-tao3 Yale Romanization Pénghú Chyúndǎu Southern Min Hokkien POJ Phêⁿ-ô·-kûn-tó
Penghu Island
Traditional Chinese	澎湖島
Simplified Chinese	澎湖岛
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Pénghú Dǎo Tongyong Pinyin Pénghú Dǎo Wade–Giles P'eng2-hu2 Tao3 Yale Romanization Pénghú Dǎu Southern Min Hokkien POJ Phêⁿ-ô·-tó
Penghu County
Traditional Chinese	澎湖縣
Simplified Chinese	澎湖县
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Pénghú Xiàn Wade–Giles P'eng2-hu2 Hsien4

Penghu

The Penghu or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 64 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait. The largest city is Magong, located on the largest island, which is also named Penghu. Covering an area of 141 square kilometers (54 sq mi), the archipelago collectively forms Penghu County of Taiwan, and is the second smallest county, after Lienchiang.

Name

The traditional English name of the islands, the Pescadores, comes from the Portuguese name Ilhas dos Pescadores ("Fishermen Islands"). The Portuguese pronunciation is [pɨʃkɐˈðoɾɨʃ] but, in English, it is typically closer to /ˌpɛskəˈdɔːrɪz/ or /-iz/. The islands have also been called Pehoe.

Pescadores was also the name given by the Spanish expedition of Hernando de Grijalva in 1537 to the Micronesian atoll Kapingamarangi.

History

Finds of fine red cord-marked pottery indicate that Penghu was visited by people from southwestern Taiwan around 5,000 years ago, though not settled permanently.

Han Chinese from southern Fujian began to establish fishing communities on the islands in the 9th and 10th centuries, and representatives were intermittently stationed there by the Southern Song and Yuan governments from around 1170.

The islands are described in some detail in Wang Dayuan's Dao Yi Zhi Lue (1349).

Ming dynasty

In the 15th century, the Ming ordered the evacuation of the islands as part of their maritime ban. When these restrictions were removed in the late 16th century, fishing communities were re-established on the islands, giving rise to its Portuguese and then English name. The Ming established a military presence in 1603, repelling a Dutch attempt to establish a base on the islands in 1622.

Ming-Dutch War

Main article: Sino–Dutch conflicts

The Dutch East India Company tried to use military force to make China open up a port in Fujian to trade and demanded that China expel the Portuguese from Macau, whom the Dutch were fighting in the Dutch–Portuguese War. The Dutch raided Chinese shipping after 1618 and took junks hostage in an unsuccessful attempt to get China to meet their demands.

The Dutch were defeated by the Portuguese at the Battle of Macau in 1622. That same year, the Dutch seized Penghu (the Pescadores), built a fort there, and continued to demand that China open up ports in Fujian to Dutch trade. China refused, with the Chinese Governor of Fujian (Fukien) Shang Zhouzuo (Shang Chou-tso) demanding that the Dutch withdraw from the Pescadores to Formosa (Taiwan), where the Chinese would permit them to engage in trade. This led to a war between the Dutch and China between 1622 and 1624 which ended with the Chinese being successful in making the Dutch withdraw to Taiwan and abandoning Pescadores. The Dutch threatened that China would face Dutch raids on Chinese ports and shipping unless the Chinese allowed trading on Penghu and that China not trade with Manila but only with the Dutch in Batavia and Siam and Cambodia. China wasn't persuaded by these threats. After Shang ordered them to withdraw to Taiwan on September 19 of 1622, the Dutch raided Xiamen (Amoy) on October and November. The Dutch intended to "induce the Chinese to trade by force or from fear" by raiding Fujian and Chinese shipping from the Pescadores. Long artillery batteries were erected at Amoy in March 1622 by Colonel Li-kung-hwa as a defence against the Dutch.

On the Dutch attempt in 1623 to force China to open up a port, five Dutch ships were sent to Liu-ao and the mission ended in failure for the Dutch, with a number of Dutch sailors taken prisoner and one of their ships lost. In response to the Dutch using captured Chinese for forced labor and strengthening their garrison in Penghu with five more ships in addition to the six already there, the new Governor of Fujian Nan Juyi (Nan Chü-i) was permitted by China to begin preparations to attack the Dutch forces in July 1623. A Dutch raid was defeated by the Chinese at Amoy on October 1623, with the Chinese taking the Dutch commander Christian Francs prisoner and burning one of the four Dutch ships. The Chinese began an offensive on February 1624 with warships and troops against the Dutch in Penghu with the intent of expelling them. The Chinese offensive reached the Dutch fort on July 30, 1624, with 5,000 Chinese troops (or 10,000) and 40-50 warships under General Wang Mengxiong surrounding the fort commanded by Marten Sonck, and the Dutch were forced to sue for peace on August 3 and folded before the Chinese demands, withdrawing from Penghu to Taiwan (Formosa). The Dutch admitted that their attempt at military force to coerce China into trading with them had failed with their defeat in Penghu. At the Chinese victory celebrations over the "red-haired barbarians", as the Dutch were called by the Chinese, Nan Juyi (Nan Chü-yi) paraded twelve Dutch soldiers who were captured before the Emperor in Beijing. The Dutch did not expect the subsequent Chinese attack on their fort in Penghu since they thought of them as timid and from their experience in Southeast Asia as a "faint-hearted troupe".

After the Dutch defeat and expulsion from the Pescadores in the 1622–1624, they were totally driven off China's coast when they were decisively defeated by Chinese forces under Admiral Zheng Zhilong at the Battle of Liaoluo Bay in 1633 and then in 1662 they were defeated and driven off Taiwan at the Siege of Fort Zeelandia by Chinese forces under Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga).

Qing dynasty

For a period in the mid-17th century, Taiwan and the archipelago were ruled by the Koxinga kingdom (Kingdom of Tungning), which was overthrown by the Qing dynasty in 1683 after the Battle of Penghu.

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 Makung harbour on 11 June 1885.

Empire of Japan

Hōko Prefecture Government building

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.

Penghu County was then called the Hōko Prefecture by the Japanese government of Taiwan. In the Second Sino-Japanese War, Makō (Makung) was a major base for the Imperial Japanese Navy and embarkation point for the invasion of the Philippines.

Republic of China

In the Cairo Declaration of 1943, the United States, the United Kingdom and China stated it to be their purpose that "all the territories that Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Formosa and The Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China". On 26 July 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, signed in 1951 and coming into effect in 1952, Japan renounced sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu, but left their final disposition unsettled. The archipelago has been administered by the Republic of China since that time.

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.

On 25 May 2002, China Airlines Flight 611, a Boeing 747-200 aircraft flying from Taipei to Hong Kong, disintegrated and exploded over the Islands. The wreckage slammed into the Taiwan Strait, a couple of miles off the coast. All 225 passengers and crew on board were killed.

Starting 1 January 2015, tourists from Mainland China can directly apply the Exit & Entry Permit upon arrival in Penghu. This privilege also applies to Kinmen and Matsu Islands as means to boost tourism in the outlying islands of Taiwan.

Government

Penghu County Hall

Main article: Penghu County Government

Penghu County is administered by Penghu County Government headed by Magistrate Chen Kuang-fu of the Democratic Progressive Party and headquartered at the Penghu County Hall.

County administration

Subdivisions of Penghu County

Penghu County is divided into 1 city, 5 rural townships. It is further divided into 97 villages. Together with Lienchiang County, Penghu County has no urban township. The county seat is located at Magong City where it houses the Penghu County Hall and Penghu County Council.

Name (Hanyu Pinyin)	Hanzi	Wade-Giles	Tongyong Pinyin	Taiwanese (POJ)	Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ	English translation
City
Magong City	馬公市	Ma-kung	Magong	Má-king	Mâ-kûng	originally Matsu Palace
Rural township
Huxi Township	湖西鄉	Hu-hsi	Husi	Ô͘-sai	Fù-sî	Lake West / West of Penghu
Baisha Township	白沙鄉	Pai-sha	Baisha	Pe̍h-soa	Pha̍k-sâ	White Sand
Xiyu Township	西嶼鄉	Hsi-yü	Siyu	Sai-sū	Sî-yí	Western Isle
Qimei Township	七美鄉	Ch'i-mei	Cimei	Chhit-bí	Tshit-mî	Seven Beauties
Wang-an Township	望安鄉	Wang-an	Wang-an	Bāng-oaⁿ	Mong-ôn	Hope Safe

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

Political dispute

Despite the controversy over the political status of Taiwan, both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China agree that Penghu is a county in (their own respective) "Taiwan Province" (Taiwan Province, Republic of China and Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China). However, geographically, the island of Taiwan does not include Penghu, although it is closer to Taiwan than mainland China. Thus, Penghu is listed separately from "Taiwan" in some contexts, e.g. the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu (the official WTO name for the Republic of China) in the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Cairo Declaration, and the Treaty of San Francisco (see above).

Education

National Penghu University of Science and Technology

Education-related matters in Penghu County is administered under the Education Department of Penghu County Government. The county houses the National Penghu University of Science and Technology.

Energy

Chienshan Power Plant

Electricity

Penghu is powered up by its only major power plant, the Chienshan Power Plant, a 140 MW fuel-fired power plant commissioned in 2001. On 24 December 2010, the Taiwan-Penghu Undersea Cable Project of Taipower was approved by the Executive Yuan to connect the electrical grid in Taiwan Island to Penghu.

Renewable energy

Under a wind power development project approved in 2002 by the Executive Yuan, the ROC government plans to set up a total of 200 wind turbines in Penghu within 10 years. However, only 14 turbines have been set up as of 2015. On 1 October 2015, Taipower announced the construction of another 11 new wind turbines across the island, in which 6 will be constructed in Huxi Township and 5 in Baisha Township.

Water supply

The current total desalination capacity of the county to provide clean water to its residence is 15,500 m³ per day. To reduce its groundwater use, in November 2015 the county secured a contract of building an additional desalination plant with 4,000 m³ capacity per day, which its construction is expected to be completed by May 2018.

Tourist attractions

Double-Heart of Stacked Stones

Historical sites

Historical sites in the county are the Central Street and Qimei Lighthouse.

Museums

Museums in the county are Ocean Resources Museum, Chang Yu-sheng Memorial Museum and Penghu Living Museum.

Nature

Penghu County is boasted with many nature attractions such as Penghu National Scenic Area, Double-Heart of Stacked Stones, Little Taiwan and Whale Cave.

Transportation

Qimei Airport

Airport

Penghu is served by its domestic Magong Airport built in Magong City and Qimei Airport built in Qimei Township. Both airports were opened in 1977.

Harbor

The Magong Harbor serves Penghu with Kaohsiung, Tainan and Chiayi.

See also

• Administrative divisions of the Republic of China
• County (Taiwan)
• List of cities in the Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Penghu National Scenic Area

External links

• Penghu travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Penghu County Government (English)
• Penghu Tour Official Website
• 澎湖研究學術研討會 第1-8屆論文輯全球資訊網-歷屆論文 (Traditional Chinese)
• Living Museum (Copyright © 2012 Culture Taiwan)