Located about 1,600 kilometers south of Taiwan proper, Taiping Island is the largest of the naturally formed islands in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands in the South China Sea. Part of the sovereign territory of the Republic of China (Taiwan), it spans 0.51 square kilometers and has a hospital, lighthouse, port, post office, runway, temple and weather station as well as agricultural, power generation and satellite facilities.
ROC citizens have been stationed on Taiping Island for more than 50 years. At present, the population, which totals more than 200 people, consists mostly of ROC Coast Guard personnel as well as some medical staff and scientists. Over the decades, Taiwan has turned the island into a thriving outpost. In addition to raising chickens and goats, personnel living there have used the island’s fresh water to set up an agricultural garden that produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, ranging from corn and okra to pears and sweet potatoes.
Taiping Island possesses a diverse ecosystem, including trees that are more than three centuries old. Coconuts, papayas, plantains and other crops grow wild there. Taiwan has taken special care to preserve the natural environment, ensuring Taiping Island and its surrounding waters remain prime feeding areas for seabirds. The government has also enacted measures to safeguard the local beaches, which serve as nesting grounds for green turtles and other protected species.
For some of the staff stationed on Taiping Island, it has become much more than a distant workplace. Over the course of months and years serving there, personnel such as nurse Chu Mei-ling (初美玲), who transferred her household registration to the island, have come to view this rare lush outpost in the blue expanse of the South China Sea as their home.
—by Ciaran Madden
