Hopes pinned on peace across Taiwan Strait after drills [Video]

People on both sides of the fraught Taiwan Strait pinned their hopes this week on peace, after Beijing launched military drills around the self-ruled island.

China on Monday sent fighter jets, bombers and warships to encircle Taiwan, in exercises it dubbed a “stern warning” to “separatist forces” on the island.

But in mainland China’s county of Pingtan — at some points just 68 nautical miles (126 kilometres) from Taiwan’s main island — small business owners said they hoped relations would improve, if only to help boost their struggling local economy.

Many only gave their surnames, highlighting just how sensitive the issue of Taiwan has become in China.

Pingtan and Taiwan enjoy close cultural and familial ties — elderly locals talked fondly of family members on the island or those who had lived there previously.

So close are the landmasses, one octogenarian told AFP, that on a clear night it is …