On the Taiwanese island of Kinmen, 63-year-old Wu Tseng-dong – Maestro Wu as he brands himself – is beating swords into ploughshares, as the Bible teaches. Or to be exact, artillery shells into kitchen knives. And until the beginning of last year, mainland Chinese bought them up in tremendous numbers: “There is a particular meaning to the mainland tourists,” Maestro Wu said, “in bringing back these instruments of peace that were once weapons of war.” In February 2020, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council severed the “xiaosantong” or “three minor communication…

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