Unify >>> destroy
China does NOT want to destroy Taiwan. The main conflict China has with the west (and Taiwan) regarding Taiwan is that China thinks Taiwan is Chinese terriitory. Taiwan, and pretty much everyone else, sees Taiwan as an independent country
There’s even a portion of Taiwanese people who want unity and most of the ppl in Taiwan (and pretty much all the members of their government) are Chinese after all
CHina doesn’t really have that much to gain from annexing Taiwan IMO. Economically speaking, the two are about as economically intertwined as two countries can get and China is quickly building up capacity for things that it previously relied on Taiwan for (ie semiconductors)
HK is a bit difference. HK is technically part of China and the government is afraid that compromising would inspire main land dissidents (which isn’t right IMO). The incentives are different
Exactly, and that means an invasion with ground forces and that will not be an easy victory.
I’ve read that that among younger Taiwanese, the desire for unity is lacking.
The majority of Taiwan’s exports go to China. Taiwan also relies on well-educated foreigners when it comes to semiconductors and a Chinese invasion could end that.
Probably true. I’m generally supportive of China, but even I don’t think there’s a point in unity
Definitely not. Invading islands with a crap navy is generally a VERY bad idea. Heck, the US had trouble with the BEST navy during WWII.
It’d also probably trigger another world war that may go nuclear, so…
You can google it. We spend (depending on the year) usually more than the next 8-10 highest countries combined. And we have been for quite a while. Anyone talking about war with the US saying we aren’t ready should be ignored as ignorant.
Now we might “lose” wars depending on what are goals are (say Afghanistan) but it isn’t because we don’t have the capabilities to wipe out every person in that whole country if we would like to do so.
But again it’s all moot because why in the hell would China and the US decide to annihilate each other? This isn’t the 1700’s anymore where you go to war with the whole damn country and invade when we’re talking big powerful countries.
Wars have been fought over muchless. War in general is kind of a stupid concept that has critical implications on the nations and the people involved, while those who started it are protected and at peace.
It’s not the status that matters as much as the potential for economic disaster. For instance, if the US loses the petro-dollar, it’s going to devastate our economy. If they begin trading oil in the yuan, the implications for our economy and the potential for mass financial devastation would be the impetus for war. If people lose confidence in the US economy, it’s going to be a race to the bottom.
I am not claiming we are on the verge of war. Just that war is far more likely than it was 5 years ago. Let’s hope it doesn’t get there. However, it’s China’s move to make. Taiwan is the prize and if they occupy it and they desperately do want to occupy it, then war is a foregone conclusion. All it takes for China to move, is a certainty that the US is too weak to do anything about it.
I don’t know if he’s dumb, but he is a despot and moves like one. Again, this isn’t merely about economic position. The effects ripple throughout the economies. And losing it to China means we have no leverage, we rest our hopes on the kindness of the CCP and that’s a bad place to put your bet on.
You do remember that China is actively doing genocide. That this government is responsible for tens of millions of deaths. It’s a hard country to support given those narratives. And it’s getting easier for other nations to not trust the US. Look at what we do to each other! And while we’re fighting for the scraps in the streets, we fail to notice that the leadership is failing miserably.
The biggest news is the stories that the news refuses to acknowledge. It’s all tied in. Like the border crisis for instance, $9000 gets Chinese immigrants through the border. They get processed and released. China is not sending its economically desperate people, they cannot swin that far. They are most certainly sending people to do harm in someway. Not all of them, but a lot. Enough to be a problem.
I know. Most of my grandparents’ friends growing up died during the famine(s). My maternal grandma’s family lost everything after the revolution because they were landlords.
The China then is VERY different from the China now.
It wouldn’t be so hard if ALL of your family was Chinese. I could say the same about the US. Every country has not so great things in their histories. I love Germany, but that doesn’t mean I condone the nazis
No. Most people “China” sends over are rich, spoiled kids who want to go to (insert name of prestigious university) or alternately, grad students who end up in engineering, math or comp sci departments because the US has better education opportunities. Most of these students pay full tuition and provide a nice source of funding
Whatever work they end up doing benefits the US as much as it benefits China
This doesn’t seem to be the case. Leverage isn’t all or nothing. Warren Buffet still has plenty of leverage even though Bezos and Musk have more money.
It largely depends on what your leveraged against. In this case your leveraged on the rest of the world. Unimaginable sums of money changing hands.
And the people you mentioned can all immediately increase their leverage by getting involved in more visible roles. Hence, I don’t see the exception.
Also, you have to understand the mindset of China people. They regard Chinese in other countries as their “own people” regardless of nationality. They may get pissed at politics, but killing their own people in a war wouldn’t be something they want.
The recent skirmish with India probably also resulted in a lot more deaths on their end than they’re reporting, which is probably why State media never even dared to give it much coverage and they’ve been trying to deescalate ever since. Huawei also just signed a deal with India.
Seriously, no one really gives a fuck. China people don’t even follow politics much since there’s always been a one party system. People seem to have some weird idea that China people spend all their time watching the news while clutching their red books salivating at the thought of China finally taking over the world lol.
