ROC Soldier Goes Missing in Kinmen Islands and Ends Up in Communist China

Editors‘ Note:

This article was compiled and written by OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus and reviewed by the human editors of Eat News.

On March 9, 2023, a Republic of China (ROC) soldier stationed in Kinmen islands group went missing from Erdan Island. According to a press release issued by the Kinmen Defense Command, the soldier did not report for duty on March 9, and when troops searched his barracks, he was nowhere to be found. The 26-year-old soldier, surnamed Chen, served as a cook in the Lieyu Garrison Battalion.

Initially, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the ROC denied that the soldier had gone to the other side. However, Kuomintang legislator Chen Yu-Jen, who represents Kinmen, later revealed that the soldier had been picked up in water by the Communist China Coast Guard. The ROC government later admitted that the soldier had gone absent without leave (AWOL) and ended up in Xiamen, mainland China, where he was rescued by Chinese police from the water. The ROC military and government refused to say the soldier had defected, claiming he had “taken a walk.”

Erdan Island, where the soldier went missing, covers an area of about 0.28 square kilometers and is about 800 meters away from Dadan Island. The two islands are about 12 km away from Kinmen’s main island and about 4.4 km from China’s Xiamen Island. A search is currently being conducted across the entire island.

During a meeting of the Internal Administration Committee of the Legislative Yuan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Tai-san faced questions from legislators about the fate of the missing soldier and what government departments are doing to address the situation. Chiu confirmed to the media that the soldier was in China. He said that in addition to launching a search effort for Chen, the MND conducted an inventory of equipment, while the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) scanned nearby waters.

Legislators questioned whether poor communication channels between Taiwan and China could have led to the inefficient handling of Chen’s disappearance. Chiu said the cross-strait situation is “a bit complicated and ambiguous.” However, he stressed that although there is competition and confrontation, the two sides of the strait still have mechanisms for handling matters such as economic and trade exchanges, financial activities, and fighting crime.

Chiu said the status of the soldier and his motive for leaving the base are not yet understood. He said these questions must be addressed and China has an investigative mechanism to deal with this situation. The MND and CGA are both continuing to investigate the incident.

According to the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces, soldiers who fail to return to their post for more than six days could face up to three years in prison or a maximum of NT$300,000 in fines.

The incident has caused humiliation for the Taiwan government and the ROC military, as they initially denied that the soldier had defected and claimed he had simply gone for a walk. The incident also highlights the complexities of the cross-strait situation between Taiwan and China, and the challenges of maintaining effective communication channels and handling such matters. The fate and motive of the missing soldier remain unclear, and the investigation is ongoing.