Source: China Times

 

April 7, 2014

 

April 5 is Tomb Sweeping Day (Ching Ming) (清明節).  Wang Hongguang (王洪光), a former deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region, stressed on April 4 that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had been completely defeated in the Battle of Guningtou.  On the eve of Tomb Sweeping Day, Wang called on the Mainland to establish a memorial stele for the Battle of Guningtou and hold consultations with Taiwan to move the remains of PLA officers and men on Kinmen Island to the Mainland for reburial.

 

The Republic of China (ROC) armed forces and the Chinese Communist forces fought a battle at Guningtou from October 24 to 27, 1949.  The ROC armed forces successfully prevented PLA forces from capturing Kinmen Island and stabilized the morale of the ROC military and the people in Taiwan.

 

On October 1, 1949, the CCP announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and subsequently launched the Battle of Xiamen and defeated the ROC armed forces garrisoned in Xiamen.  On October 24, 1949, over 9,000 PLA troops landed at Guningtou on Kinmen, but were defeated by the defending ROC armed forces after fighting for three days and nights.  The PLA admitted that more than 9,000 PLA troops were killed, captured or went missing in the battle.  According to the ROC’s record of the battle, 3,873 PLA troops were killed and 5,175 captured.

 

Since the PLA crossed the Yangtze River from the North and occupied Nanjing, the capital city, the ROC armed forces faced a series of defeats on the Mainland.  When Chiang Kai-shek heard of the victory in the Battle of Guningtou, he said that Taiwan was saved.  Chen Cheng (陳誠), then the Southeast Military and Administrative Commander, with headquarters in Taipei, reviewed the Battle of Guningtou and said that when the news of victory in the Battle of Guningtou reached Taiwan, it was the fourth anniversary of Retrocession Day (台灣光復節) and the people in Taiwan celebrated the victory.