Spikes jut from the beaches of Taiwan's Kinmen island, military checkpoints serve as traffic roundabouts and bunkers double up as tourist cafes -- reminders everywhere of the conflict decades earlier with Chinese communist forces. On a clear day, tourists visiting Kinmen can spy a crimson sign that says "One country, two systems unify China" on the shores of mainland city Xiamen, a 30-minute ferry from Kinmen. Now Kinmen residents are preparing to vote in a crucial presidential election on Saturday that is being watched closely from Beijing to Washington, and whose winner will set democratic Taiwan's course over the next four years. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES