has also been seen as an attempt to draw Nationalist forces away from other areas. In September 1958, the island was included in an official statement on the delineation of the territorial waters of China. The lighthouse was repaired in 1964 after being damaged by artillery bombardment from the mainland. In 1968, Chen Ching-Hu (), then 17, was given the job of lighthouse keeper on the island. Later, he would go back and forth between Dongding Island and Beiding Island maintaining the lighthouses at both places. He retired in 2016 at age 65 and lives on Kinmen Island. On September 8, 1978, a butchers group from Jinhu visited Dongding Island and Beiding Island to bring gifts to the soldiers there. They wished the soldiers a happy upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival. In March 1996, during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, Dongding Island was assessed as one of the targets of the CPLA's military harassment or seizure. In May 1996, Dongding Island was included as a basepoint in the Baselines of the Chinese territorial sea. In 2005, after being completely off-limits to civilians for five decades, the island was to be transferred from military control to the administration of Kinmen County government. On June 10, 2013, Pan Chia-Yu (), the leader of the ROC Kinmen Defense Command, visited the soldiers on Dongding Island ahead of Dragon Boat Festival. On July 18, 2019, Ho Cheng (賀政), the new leader of the ROC Army Kinmen Defense Command (陸軍金門防衛指揮部), visited the soldiers on Dongding Island. On the night of May 24, 2020, Chinese sand mining ship Haishunda 069 () overturned and sank in or near the restricted waters south of Dongding Island. Geography Dongding Island is about off the mainland coast and south-southwest of Kinmen. The island has been described as "a bare rock, miles from any land". It is 55 meters high with steep cliffs. The top of the island is grassy. The south end of the island is linked to the rest of the island by a small strip of land. Nearby shipwrecks are unmarked and treacherous to navigation. There are no trees, and sheer cliffs surround the island. There were rabbits on the island in the early 1950s. A zig-zagging stairway leads from a small concrete jetty to the summit area. The island has machine gun nests and rifle pits. There is a courtyard next to the lighthouse and old light-keeper's house. There