The archipelago known as Penghu (in English the Pescadores Islands) holds an important place in the history of Taiwan. Located almost exactly halfway between Taiwan and China in the Taiwan Strait, it occupies one of the most strategic trading points between Japan, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. Once held by the Dutch, it was then used as a Ming Chinese holdout for stationing troops, and later occupied by the Qing, French, Japanese, and finally the Guomindang. However, the original occupants of Penghu were primarily fishermen, arriving there from mainland China as early as 8OOCE. Some of those early fishermen went on to Taiwan, becoming the island's first non-aboriginal settlers. Therefore, the Penghu islands have always acted as a series of stepping stones between mainland China and Taiwan. While empires have come and gone, the underlying fishing
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