Taiwan investors in frontline city Xiamen appear to be undeterred by the threats of war and prepared to cash in on the new opportunities brought by the imminent link between Taiwan offshore islands and the mainland.
On Dadeng Island - where Quemoy Island is clearly in sight - a special market was opened by the Xiamen Government last year as a gesture to promote trade with Taiwan.
But the market was very quiet recently, as many shop owners had left either because they were scared off by the possibility of war or had found no business there.
Among the more than 400 shop-owners, including locals, opportunity-seekers from all over the mainland and about 20 Taiwan investors, only 100 are staying in Dadeng, according to a local shopkeeper.
The so-called Taiwan products sold in the market are mainly imported via Hong Kong and Macau because there is no direct trade link between the mainland and Taiwan.
But a Taiwan businessman, who claimed he had several factories in Taipei, said Taiwan businessmen came to the island - about an hour's drive from Xiamen - to wait for the limited trade link.
