Soldiers on the tiny Taiwan-held island of Kinmen regularly conduct military drills repelling amphibious attacks by Chinese Communist troops from the mainland, but the problem may soon be free-for-all landings of Chinese shoppers and businessmen. The war games are a reminder that this place is the front line between China and Taiwan where beaches were mined and shots traded up until as recently as the mid-1970s, and that China has not renounced force to ensure it gains control of a territory it considers its own. "If China attacks Taiwan, we will be the first to die," said Kinmen bar owner Sam Chen, 29, as he watched recent live-fire drills with fellow residents. "Of course I am worried about war, but I also hope Kinmen can build closer ties with China. It's easier for us young people to make money."

There lies the rub. Many in Taiwan, especially a newly politicized youth movement, are angry about perceived economic dominance by China, likening it to an invasion all of its own. But many also see the benefits of closer trade. Rustic Kinmen, with a population of less than 129,000, is a half-hour ferry ride to China, but it takes an hour to fly to major Taiwan cities. Just off its shores, glass-walled high-rises wink seductively from the booming mainland port of Xiamen in one of China's most prosperous provinces. Kinmen is eyeing closer commercial ties with China. It wants to pipe water from Xiamen and has plans to build a bridge and set up a glittering free trade zone with the city. Taiwan's pro-Beijing, Kuomintang-led (KMT) government also hopes greater economic integration will bolster Taiwan's economy. But Taiwan chooses a new president and parliament in January when the KMT is expected to lose to the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is deeply suspicious of China. Beijing has claimed Taiwan since the KMT fled to the island after losing the civil war against Mao Zedong's Communists in 1949.



An empty military command post in the village of Guningtou with its outer walls riddled with bullet hotels is seen in Kinmen County, Taiwan, September 8, 2015. Rustic Kinmen, with a population of less than 129,000, is a half-hour ferry ride to China, but it takes an hour to fly to major Taiwan cities. Just off its shores, glass-walled high-rises wink seductively from the booming mainland port of Xiamen in one of China's most prosperous provinces. Kinmen is eyeing closer commercial ties with China. It wants to pipe water from Xiamen and has plans to build a bridge and set up a glittering free trade zone with the city. China is seeking unification with Taiwan under its "one country, two systems" formula by which Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997. And Kinmen, or "Golden Gate", is a test for China's ambitions to recover Taiwan through soft power. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





A mural of Taiwan's late president Chiang Kai-shek is seen close to a Taiwan national flag in Kinmen county, Taiwan, September 8, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





Tourists takes pictures in front of soldiers during the annual Han Kuang military exercise in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





An empty military command post in the village of Guningtou with its outer walls riddled with bullet hotels is seen in Kinmen County, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





Huang Chin-chi, 92, poses for a photograph in his living room in Kinmen county, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





An elderly woman and a child rest next to a well in the village of Guningtou in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





People walk in the village of Guningtou in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





A reporter takes pictures of a soldier during the annual Han Kuang military exercise in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





Soldiers fire M115 203mm howitzers during the annual Han Kuang military exercise in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 8, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





Local residents take pictures during the annual Han Kuang military exercise in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 8, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





A local resident takes a selfie with his smartphone in front of military soldiers and tanks during the annual Han Kuang military exercise in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





Shiyu, or Lion Islet, which is part of Kinmen county, one of Taiwan's offshore islands, is seen in front of Xiamen, China, in Kinmen county, Taiwan, September 8, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





Anti-landing barricades are seen along a coast in Lieyu in Kinmen county, Taiwan, September 8, 2015. The city across the river is Xiamen, China. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





A deserted wall of speakers which was used for anti-China propaganda at Beishan Broadcast Station in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





An elderly woman plays cards in her kitchen in the village of Guningtou in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





A tourist bus drives past military soldiers and tanks during the annual Han Kuang military exercise in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





An elderly woman poses in front of a bullet-riddled wall of her house in the village of Guningtou in Kinmen, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





Tourists walk inside the Jhaishan Tunnel in Kinmen county, Taiwan, September 8, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





A worker trims bushes near an advertising post in Kinmen county, Taiwan, September 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





A woman collects oysters on a beach near anti-landing barricades in Kinmen county, Taiwan, September 8, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)





A farmer sets off firecrackers to scare off birds in a sorghum field in Kinmen county, Taiwan, September 8, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)