[21] Matsu is the Wade-Giles-derived romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation (Ma³-tsu³) for the Chinese character name (馬祖) of the islands.

The Matsu Islands are also known by other Chinese-language names including Chinese: 馬祖群島; pinyin: Mǎzǔ Qúndǎo and 馬祖島; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū dō̤).

Then-Magistrate Chen Hsueh-sheng said some local people opposed the name change because they felt it reflected the pro-independence viewpoint of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Due to its strategic location along the only route for the spice traffic, the British established the Dongyong Lighthouse in Dongyin Island in 1912 to facilitate ships navigation.

The CCP established the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 October 1949, which included administration of today's Lianjiang County of Fujian.

Those positions might have been used to protect the Haitan Strait, which was considered a favorable staging area for amphibious operations against the Matsu Islands.

However, later that month, after talks between the United States and the PRC in Warsaw, Poland, a ceasefire was agreed and the status quo reaffirmed.

During the debates, both candidates, Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy, pledged to use American forces if necessary to protect Taiwan from invasion by the PRC, which the United States did not recognize as the legitimate government of China.

However, in the second debate on 7 October 1960, the two candidates stated different opinions about whether American forces should also be used to protect Taiwan's forward positions, Quemoy and Matsu.

Vice President Nixon maintained that, since Quemoy and Matsu were in the "area of freedom", they should not, as a matter of principle, be surrendered to the Communists.

[34] Earlier in the debate, Nixon said: In the Truman Administration 600 million people went behind the Iron Curtain including the satellite countries of Eastern Europe and Communist China.

Would you comment further on that, and also address to this question: couldn't a pull-back from those islands be interpreted as appeasement?Kennedy's response was: Well, the United States has on occasion attempted, mostly in the middle '50s to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to pull his troops back to Formosa.

We say we will defend it if it's part of a general attack on Formosa, but it is extremely difficult to make that judgment.Now, Mr. Herter, in 1958, when he was Under Secretary of State, said they were strategically indefensible.

It is a decision finally that the Nationalists should make and I believe that we should consult with them and attempt to work out a plan by which the line is drawn at the Island of Formosa.

And as long as they are not essential to the defense of Formosa, it has been my judgement ever since 1954, at the time of the Eisenhower Doctrine for the Far East, that our line should be drawn in the sea around the island itself.Vice President Nixon retorted: I disagree completely with Senator Kennedy on this point.

Generals testified to that, and Secretary Acheson made a very famous speech at the Press Club early in the year that the Korean War started, indicating in effect that South Korea was beyond the defense zone of the United States.

[24] Self-governance of the county resumed in 1992, after the cessation of political warfare with the mainland and the abolition of Battle Field Administration on 7 November 1992.

[44] After 1 January 2015, tourists from mainland China could directly apply the Exit and Entry Permit upon arrival in Matsu Islands.

Matsu has four seasons: during winter it is cold, cloudy, and wet, during summer and spring it is foggy, and during autumn the weather is generally stable.

[66] While the Democratic Progressive Party have had difficulty winning a county-level election in this area, most of the competitions are among local strategies.

In 2018, a Green Party member, Su Bo Hao [zh] attempted to run for magistrate but failed.

Some of these are garrisoned by soldiers from the Republic of China Armed Forces stationed in the county since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and during the First and Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1954 and 1958 respectively.

[24] Chen (陳) is the most common surname, then Lin (林), Wang (王), Tsao (曹) and Liu (劉).

Sea animals, such as fish, clams, and jellyfish, are also popular exports due to its nature as the major traditional industry in Matsu.

There are, however, concerns that the continued lack of modern sewage facilities results in household waste seeping into groundwater.

In 2000, four pairs of the critically endangered Chinese crested tern, previously thought to be extinct, were discovered nesting on the Matsu Islands, giving them global conservation importance.

[84] Cetacean species that have become rare along Chinese coasts are still present here such as false killer whales and finless porpoises,[85] providing opportunistic observations at times.

Dongyin and Juguang (in Xiju Island) house heliports which only operate during winter time and priority is given to local residents to travel to Nangan.

Due to their size, travelling by motorized scooter is an ideal way to get around the main islands such as Nangan and Beigan, despite the steep hills.

In October 2019, mainland China announced 'initial plans' to build a bridge linking Fuzhou to the Matsu Islands.