China is stepping up efforts to be nice to Taiwan ahead of key elections on Jan. 11, offering better treatment to Taiwanese in China and urging the democratic island to "come home," but many there only see Beijing wielding a threatening stick.
China denies interfering in elections in Taiwan, which it claims as sacred territory, but it traditionally tries various means to influence their result, hoping politicians with a more positive view of Chinese ties get into office.
These can range from military intimidation — China fired missiles into the Taiwan Strait before the 1996 election — to what Taiwan's government calls Beijing's manipulation of China-friendly Taiwanese media.