A CH-47 ahead of Taiwan National Day celebrations, in Taipei, on Sept. 29.ANN WANG/Reuters Is Beijing preparing for war with Taiwan, a self-governed island that lies about 160 km off the southeast coast of China? China’s President Xi Jinping, who recently managed to secure a precedent-breaking third term as head of the authoritarian state, said in October his country would not renounce the use of force to annex Taiwan. The Chinese government considers Taiwan a breakaway province even though the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled the island since taking power on the mainland in 1949. It bristles against what...