Republic of China

It is a beautiful, cloudless day for the inhabitants of the island of Kinmen, also referred to as Kimoi, but the atmosphere is tense.

A month earlier, the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China, known today as Taiwan, cancelled leave for all military personnel amid rising tensions over Kinmen and the Matsu Islands 150 miles to the northeast in response to a massive buildup by communist forces of the People's Republic of China.

Reconnaissance of the Chinese mainland shows heavy artillery pieces being moved into pre-built emplacements while Republic of China or ROC naval warships along with aircraft have been harassed and even fired upon by forces of the People's Republic of China or PRC within the last 10 days.

ROC observation posts in Kinmen note that PRC gunners on the mainland have removed the muzzle covers from their artillery pieces, but other than that, the situation appears normal.

Wang Kui Yang is a captain in the Republic of China Young Women's Corps who, along with her comrades, has just placed her dinner on the table.

The women are eating from their bowls when the faint sound of distant thunder causes everyone to perk up.

Then Wang remembers.

Tensions escalate between the United States and the PRC in the Korean War.

China had been embroiled in civil conflicts since the 20s, and although Japan had invaded territory that is now part of the People's Republic, the Chinese and Japanese governments were not officially at war yet.

That all changed in July of 1937, when following a skirmish with Chinese forces, the Japanese officially declared war and began the full-scale invasion of the Chinese Republic.

By August, the Japanese had captured Shanghai, but not without strong resistance and heavy casualties, and seeing as the Japanese were vastly outnumbered and far from home, General Iwane Matsui realized a single fatal strike was necessary to collapse the Japanese government and end the war.

And so, he volunteered to lead his army in a march on, what was then, China's capital city, Nanking.

The event was held at the main temple of Confucius in Chufu, the sage's birthplace.

It was the first official memorial service for Confucius since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

The ceremony was attended by descendants of his family, as well as party officials and local politicians.

and it featured traditional music and dances, as well as prayers and offerings at the altar.

While the next few years did see more Buddhist and Taoist temple closures, a few attempts to introduce rituals for the veneration of Confucius in state schools, and even an effort to establish a state-sponsored National Confucian Association, By the dawn of the 20th century, more and more people came to think that the imperial state and its Confucian institutions were no longer viable in the modern age.

In 1912, the last ruler of the Qing dynasty, the child emperor Pu Yi, abdicated his throne and was replaced with Dr.

Sun Yat-sen, the first president of the Republic of China.

The new regime abolished the rituals of the old imperial religion and revoked Confucianism's special status.

Both sides broadcast their messages.

The Coast Guard said the Chinese ship broadcast, so-called Republic of China, does not exist.

And then Taiwan answered that the Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign and independent country.

Standoff continuing.

The Pradas are very lightly defended, by the way.