Taiwanese prepare but seek to avert war
Despite cross-strait tensions running at their highest in decades, Taiwanese retiree Lin Huei-chen is not worried about an imminent war.
"I was nervous about the People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft flying near Taiwan two years ago, but their 'trips' have become so regular that I think China's bark is probably worse than its bite," said the 64-year-old, referring to the recent spike in Chinese military activity near Taiwan.
With extended family living in the United States, she briefly considered the possibility of moving there with her husband in the event of a Chinese attack.
Washington's risky hard line towards China on Taiwan
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's early August trip to Taiwan, and China's reaction, plunged US-China relations to a new low, and elevated Taiwan as the most acute flashpoint between the two great powers.
The visit by Mrs Pelosi, the most senior elected official of the United States to do so since 1997, was seen by the Chinese as breaching the United States' One China policy of recognising Beijing as the sole government of China.
It has created a dangerous litmus test of America's and China's resolve. And the danger continues to grow.
China sees US interference as biggest test of its Taiwan policy
In China's latest government White Paper on Taiwan, the word interference, or ganshe in Chinese, appears 16 times.
It is the most number of times the term has come up in all of Beijing's three White Papers on Taiwan - appearing five times in the 2000 paper and eight times in the 1993 one.
Analysts say it gives an indication of what Beijing views as a growing challenge to relations across the Taiwan Strait: the United States, a challenge that is shaping the mainland's policy on Taiwan.
Escalating tension in the Taiwan Strait
Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have reached new heights after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and President Joe Biden's comments on US forces defending the island against an attack.
Here are key developments in relations between the United States, China and Taiwan leading to rising temperatures.
