Beijing's Taiwan policy consists of two levels: strategy and tactics. The former-such as the ”peaceful unification”, ”one country two systems”, and the non-renunciation of the use of force-has been impressively consistent over almost two decades. However, the latter-such as military intimidation, economic enticement, verbal attacks, or softening of rhetoric-has been amazingly agile. The three major factors that seem to determine how Beijing adjust its tactics toward Taiwan are China's domestic condition, the international environment (Beijing-Washington relations in particular), and the Taiwan dynamics. Two positive cases, and two negative cases in the 1990s are examined.