Since 1949, Taiwan has self-ruled, when Mao Zedong's communists took power in Beijing after defeating Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang KMT nationalists in a civil war, prompting the KMT-led government to retreat to the island.
On Pingtan Island, residents and Chinese tourists defended what China sees as its right to bring Taiwan under its control.
"We don't want a foreign country or foreign force interfering with our domestic problems," said a 15-year-old student from Wuhan, surnamed Huang.
Neither side wants to fight. He said that the two governments should negotiate and compromise.
At a coffee shop in the Pingtan hills, families took turns under the scorching sun to photograph themselves holding pro-unification banners that read '' awaiting return or peaceful unification Beijing says it is entitled to use military means to take Taiwan if necessary.
A 27-year-old games designer from Fujian province said he believed that China should gradually strengthen its unification resolve, though not necessarily through excessive force.
They are compatriots in the end, you said.
The economy or some other method can pressure Taiwan into understanding that they are heading towards a dead end and can turn back themselves. Chen, a 64-year-old retiree from the eastern city of Nanjing, took a more combative tone.
You invited Pelosi over: what are you trying to do? She can only make things worse, said Chen.