On Taiwan’s islands close to China’s mainland, threats are in sharp focus ahead of election
There is a long queue of people waiting to board the ferry from the coastal city of Xiamen in southeast China.
There are families with children, a number of older people and many others lugging huge suitcases laden with cheap goods.
They board quickly and take seats inside the small boat, there’s a sense many of them take this trip regularly.
Their journey is a short one, fewer than 10 miles lasting only about half an hour, but they are passing between two places with an increasingly tense and fractious relationship: China and Taiwan.
Indeed, this ferry links Chinese Xiamen with the Kinmen Islands, an outlying territory of Taiwan situated over 100 miles from the Taiwanese mainland, but just a few miles from China’s coast.
They are so close that even on a misty day you can see one from the other, at low tide the very closest points are a mere two kilometres apart and there is a history of defectors successfully swimming between them.
But these islands and the short journey between them offer a vantage point of sorts, a perspective on the complex, intertwined relationship between China and Taiwan, the struggle over what their future should be and, crucially, the threat that one poses to the other.
Those issues are coming into sharp focus this week as Taiwan heads to the polls to pick a new president.
More on this story:
The contest China calls a choice between war and peace
Xiamen is seen from the Kinmen Islands
‘A choice between war and peace’
As a self-governing island that China views as a breakaway province, elections are always contentious, and this time promises to be no exception.
The current ruling party’s candidate, Lai Ching-te, is most likely to win, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) takes the hardest line against China, and with a history of making pro-independence statements, his election will be highly provoking to Beijing.
In the run-up China has maintained military pressure on Taiwan such as flying warplanes towards the island, while one official framed the vote as a choice between “war and peace”.
On Kinmen itself an awareness of its vulnerability is everywhere.
The beaches are lined with historic defensive spikes and bunkers, there are multiple imposing army bases and military trucks are a regular sight on the roads.
Experts say that while Kinmen would not be a key focus of any Chinese invasion, it would likely be a first port of call.
Historic defences on a beach on Taiwan’s Kinmen Islands, just across the water from China
An historic bunker on a beach on the Kinmen Islands, which could be re-used if China invaded
‘People are unhappy and angry’
This is what 36-year-old Wenchi Lan believes. He previously served in the army and is now a keen follower of military issues and an expert on Kinmen’s historic military sites.
He thinks that while war isn’t imminent, it is possible and shows us a bag he has prepared for that eventuality, including torches, medicine and a wallet stuffed with Chinese currency to “pay-off the invading troops”, he says.
As a young voter his support lies with Lai Ching-te, the DPP, he believes, is the party most likely stand up to the Chinese threat.
“Emotionally due to the constant state of intimidation, people are definitely unhappy and angry,” he says, “China’s continuous showing of military threat is counter-productive.
“The threat from China directly influences my families’ assessment of the candidates and their attitudes towards cross-strait relations.
“Older people tend to believe that the country should prioritise peace over the nation, consider peace first and then the nation second.”
He continues: “However my family and I believe the order should be reversed, we think the nation should come first and then we can discuss how to engage in equal exchanges.”
Watch: Moment Chinese warship nearly hits US destroyer in Taiwan Strait
Wenchi Lan has prepared an emergency kit for him and his wife for if China invades
Taiwan’s current vice president and DPP candidate for president Lai Ching-te alongside his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim on a campaign poster
‘Both Taiwan and the mainland belong to Chinese culture’
But the views of many on Kinmen are a little more nuanced, heavily influenced by the deep historical as well as cultural and linguistic ties with the mainland.
In fact many here continue to see themselves as culturally Chinese, “I am a Fujian person”, one woman proudly tells us.
And that closeness means that many here vote for the opposition KMT party which advocates more dialogue and a closer relationship with Beijing.
This is also a place where Chinese efforts to win the hearts and minds of Taiwanese people have made significant inroads.
State supported cultural exchanges are just one tactic.
Shih Tsung Chen’s choir has taken part in such exchanges, journeying to the mainland to perform.
At the small church in Kinmen where they gather to practice a mixture of Taiwanese and Chinese cultural songs, he tells us that most people here want a relationship with China, but one based on peace.
“Politically, we belong to Taiwan, but in terms of culture, I feel that we are quite close to the mainland. This closeness may even surpass Taiwan itself,” he says.
Shih Tsung Chen is critical of the ruling DPP for ’emphasising Taiwan’s independence’
In fact when it comes to rising tensions with China, he blames the DPP.
“Taiwan’s main issue now is because the ruling party has been emphasising Taiwan’s independence,” he says.
“I think that the division between the two sides, Taiwan and the mainland, is not correct. Both Taiwan and the mainland belong to Chinese culture. So, fundamentally, trying to separate them is not right. From my perspective, Taiwan’s ruling party bears a larger responsibility.”
A KMT victory might reduce tensions across the strait for a time, but it almost certainly won’t resolve the underlying disagreement.
It is unclear at the moment how China will respond to the vote, but any escalation of tensions may well be felt first by the people of Kinmen.
In a stark and direct intervention, Martin Griffiths, the former UN humanitarian chief, has described the situation in Gaza as genocide.
The statement, made during an interview I conducted with Griffiths on The World, marks one of the most pointed accusations yet from a figure known to be deeply embedded in the world of international politics and diplomacy.
“I think now we’ve got to the point this is unequivocal. Of course it is genocide. Just as it is weaponising aid.
“We don’t need to look behind ourselves to see that’s the case. That should encourage us even more because we, of course, all doubted whether it would come to that level of definition.
“We all doubted whether famine is actually there. I think starvation is killing people. That’s bad enough. We don’t have to worry about famine, which is obviously there lurking in the shadows.
“Also, genocide… of course that’s what has happened. We only need to look at the statements made. Prime Minister Netanyahu has the virtue of being very clear about his objectives.”
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Ex-Israeli aide dismisses genocide claims
His choice of words is extraordinary – not just for its gravity, but because it’s Griffiths who is saying it.
A veteran diplomat with decades of experience navigating complex international crises, Griffiths is known for his calm and thoughtful demeanour – not for inflammatory language.
For him to use the term “genocide” in a television interview signals a significant shift in how some within the international system are now interpreting events on the ground in Gaza – 20 months since Israel launched its war.
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‘We carry our coffins with us’
Read more:
How Gaza’s new aid rollout system collapsed into chaos
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The timing is also noteworthy.
Just weeks earlier, Tom Fletcher, another respected former British ambassador and current UN humanitarian chief, came close to using the phrase during a UN Security Council session.
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He said: “What more evidence do you need now? Will you act decisively to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law? Or will you say instead: ‘we did all we could?'”
Whilst he stopped short, his tone showed a clear change in how leading international figures now view the direction of Israeli military operations in Gaza; staggering civilian deaths, and the statements made by Israeli officials prosecuting this war.
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Griffiths’ remarks now go a step further.
It comes as the British government continues to grapple with public anger over the mounting civilian toll – and faces growing scrutiny over its continued arms exports to Israel.
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Children ‘should be treated in UK’
This latest statement by Griffiths doesn’t just reflect humanitarian concern.
As a former ambassador, he knows the weight his words carry.
And with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsening, his warning challenges Israel’s allies to ask deeply uncomfortable questions.
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Lawyers representing Israel against accusations brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice last year – accusing its actions in Gaza of amounting to genocide – called the claims “unfounded”, “absurd” and amounting to “libel”.
They went on to say Israel respected international law and had a right to defend itself.
World
More than 40% of Europe slides into drought, including pockets of Greece, southern Italy and Spain
Well over a third of Europe, including parts of holiday destinations like Spain, Greece and Italy, are now in drought.
March was Europe’s warmest on record – a trend driven by climate change – and also saw below average rain across large parts of the north and east of the continent.
Now 41.2% of Europe finds itself in some form of drought, according to the latest update from the EU’s European Drought Observatory, which covers 11 to 20 May.
It is most acute in pockets of south-eastern Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Albania, where the strongest “alert” category has been issued, as well as parts of Poland and Ukraine.
But broad stretches of northern and eastern Europe through France, Germany, Poland and Ukraine also drying up, sowing concerns about crop yields.
On Thursday, the UK’s Environment Agency officially declared a drought in North West England after river and reservoir levels were licked away by a dry spring.
More than 40% of Europe was in drought as of 11-20 May 2025. Pic: CEMS / EDO
Heat was record high in March in Europe. The image on the right shows the south of the continent was much wetter than average and the north much drier. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service
Greece tourism is ‘unsustainable’
In Greece, “overtourism” from millions flocking to its beaches adds further pressure to water supplies, said Nikitas Mylopoulos, professor of water resource management at Thessaly University.
“The tourist sector is unsustainable and there is no planning… leading to a tremendous rise in water demand in summer,” he told Sky News.
“The islands have an intense problem of drought and water scarcity.”
Islands like Santorini and Mykonos are now forced to ship in water from Athens or desalination plants to provide for showers and swimming pools. In the past, many residents could make do with local methods like rainwater harvesting.
But agriculture is a far bigger drain on the country’s water, with waste rife and policies lacking, said Prof Mylopoulos.
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‘Tropical nights’ soar in European hotspots
Wildfire season could be ‘particularly difficult’
This year’s hot and dry conditions are also fuelling the risk of yet another fierce wildfire season in Greece.
Last week civil protection minister Ioannis Kefalogiannis warned of a “particularly difficult” summer.
He said a record 18,000 firefighters have been deployed and the drone fleet almost doubled in a bid to combat fires being fuelled by a hotter climate.
Droughts and their causes are more complicated, but scientists at World Weather Attribution say global warming is exacerbating drought in some parts of the world, including around the Mediterranean.
A drought was declared in northwest England on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
They found the drought of 2022, which spread across the Northern Hemisphere, was made 20 times more likely by climate change.
The International Hydropower Association said drought and intense rain in Europe are pushing power plants to “operate at the limits of their existing equipment”.
Extreme weather costs the EU about €28.3bn (£23.8bn) in lost crops and livestock per year, according to insurance firm Howden.
Hayley Fowler, professor of climate change impacts at Newcastle University, said: “With global warming, we expect more prolonged and intense droughts and heatwaves punctuated by more intense rainfall, possibly causing flash floods.
“In recent years, we have experienced more of these atmospheric blocks, causing record heat and persistent drought, as well as severe flooding in other locations in Europe.
“Recent months have been no different, with prolonged dry conditions and heatwaves in northern Europe and floods in southern Europe.”
At least 117 people have died and others are still missing after heavy flooding in Nigeria, an emergency official said.
Authorities initially said 21 people had died but this figure has today risen significantly.
Media reports quoting local government officials said a dam collapse has worsened the situation.
Ibrahim Hussaini, head of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said some 3,000 houses were underwater in two communities.
Videos posted on social media show floodwater sweeping through neighbourhoods, with rooftops barely visible above the brown currents. One clip shows a tanker floating through a town.
A tanker is swept away by floodwaters
The chairman of the Mokwa local government area suggested poor infrastructure has worsened the impact of the flooding.
Jibril Muregi has appealed to the government to start “long overdue” construction of waterways in the area under a climate resilience project.
Water appears to be flowing over a dam behind the town
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In a similar occurrence last September, torrential rains and a dam collapse in Nigeria’s northeastern Maiduguri caused severe flooding, leaving at least 30 people dead and displacing millions.
Nigeria is prone to flooding during the rainy season, which began in April – and flooding is becoming more common and extreme as the climate warms.
Read more:
More than 40% of Europe slides into drought
How melting ice is boosting Russia’s military
Hotter air is thirstier and can hold more moisture – about 7% more for every 1C warmer – meaning it unleashes heavier flooding when it rains.
Violent rain, which killed hundreds of people in Nigeria during 2022, was made at least 80 times more likely and 20% more intense by climate change, analysis by World Weather Attribution found.
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