The Kinmen archipelago (Chinese: 金門; Pinyin: Jīnmén) is a set of small islands only a few kilometers off the coast of Mainland China. The islands are geographically and administratively considered to belong to the Chinese Mainland, which is likely a reason for the KMT's extensive efforts to defend the islands, as it gave them legitimacy as the political entity representing China.
It was shelled and blockaded repeatedly by Communist forces in 1954-55 and 1958. By the 1970s, the Communists have shifted to using propaganda leaflets, to which the Nationalist forces retaliated by broadcasting anti-Communist propaganda and pop music using loudspeakers on the island, and sending leaflets, food and radios to the Mainland using balloons. Heavy fortifications helped it maintain control over it to this day.
