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
The Taiping Island Lighthouse was inaugurated in December 2015.
Taiping Island’s diverse ecosystem includes trees that are more than 300 years old.
Chickens and goats are raised on Taiping Island.
A wide variety of crops are cultivated in the vegetable garden.
Personnel stationed on the island use its fresh water for drinking, cooking and irrigation.
In addition to meeting residents’ medical needs, Nansha Hospital on Taiping Island offers humanitarian assistance to fishermen of all nationalities operating in the region.
Chu Mei-ling, right, a nurse stationed at Nansha Hospital, transferred her household registration to the island.
A monument erected by the Ministry of the Interior highlights the island’s status as part of the ROC’s sovereign territory.
Huang Chiu-lung, an associate professor at Yuan Ze University in Taoyuan City, northern Taiwan, sent postcards home from Taiping during a visit to the island. Postal services were launched on Taiping Island in 1960.
University students attend a flag-raising ceremony during a two-day visit to Taiping in June this year. The government arranged the trip to help raise awareness of the island among Taiwan’s young people.
PHOTOS BY CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY AND COURTESY OF COAST GUARD ADMINISTRATION, MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE AND MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR