Taiwan Pissed At Stream Of China's Garbage Covering Its Beaches - Reuters

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KINMEN, Taiwan, Feb 21 (Reuters) - It's been decades since artillery shells landed on this strategic frontline island at the height of the China-Taiwan civil war, but now a new battle rages as garbage from the Chinese mainland washes up on Kinmen's shore.

Bottles, plastic bags, rags and effluent from China is washing up on the otherwise pristine beaches of the Taiwan-controlled, sub-tropical island of Kinmen, better known in the West as Quemoy. "We see Kinmen as a victim," said county Magistrate Lee Juh-feng. "It's going to need some time. It's not a problem you can solve all at once."

Wind-driven ocean currents from China's booming coastal city of Xiamen, only about 2 km (1.25 miles) away, bring garbage across a sea channel that decades ago was the scene of fierce fighting between China and Taiwan during a protracted civil war. The problem gets worse when it rains, as storms bring extra-large onslaughts from the mouth of the nearby Jiulong River in China. The battle is a new one for Kinmen, which became the front-line defence outpost for the Nationalists after they lost a civil war to the Communists and fled to Taiwan in 1949, retaining control of the island along with another island chain off the China coast.

Authorities on Kinmen clean up trash from China every week and armies of volunteers collect garbage from the beaches every few months. Local authorities get $122,000 in funds from Taipei per year just to clean up garbage, a government-run magazine reported in January. About 800 tonnes of trash were cleared off island beaches last year alone, the magazine said.

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