evidence: If China were to attack Taiwan, Kinmen could be an early focus for its People’s Liberation Army. Lying hundreds of miles from Taiwan’s capital Taipei – but just a few from the mainland Chinese city of Xiamen – it is acutely vulnerable to hostile action from the world’s largest military. Taiwan has just a few thousand troops stationed here. [...] Historically part of mainland China’s Fujian province, Kinmen has a distinct history from Taiwan’s main island. While Taiwan was heavily influenced by five decades of Japanese rule, between 1895 and the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Japanese did not reach Kinmen until 1937. "Kinmen is very close to mainland China, and we had lots of exchanges in the old days," said Huang Li-cheng, a 91-year-old shopkeeper. "We are not hostile to each other."