China has overhauled the law that lets it switch the whole country onto a war footing, a move Taiwan reads as preparation for an attack.

• The revised law takes effect October 1 and is the first big rewrite since 2010.
• It ties mobilization directly to "sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity" — language aimed at Taiwan.
• Once mobilization is declared, Beijing can rapidly convert people, transport, communications, energy, hospitals and media into wartime resources.
• Men aged 18 to 60 and women 18 to 55 can be called up for defense duties.
• Taiwanese officials say no one is threatening China, so the only purpose is to prepare an attack that cannot be blocked or hit by sanctions.

Outlook: Taipei expects more war-preparation steps from Beijing and is pushing to harden its own defenses, with China's weak economy and high youth unemployment fueling the nationalist turn.