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Originally Posted by NCB
Again, you put the US and China on the same morally equvialent plane. I don't see it that way, nor do most Americans. I think it may be helpful for you to detach youself from your hatred and guilt of the West and look at the China/Taiwan issue rationally.
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.... You realize that while most Americans may not put it on the same moral plane, most Chinese people do.
Please everyone, think about the situation rationally. No matter how much you might hate China, no matter how emotionally scarred from the Cold War you might be, please realize that military action between the US and China will not be a good thing.
Like it or not, China is a nuclear power and has the largest standing army in the world. It's navy and air force may not be up to snuff, but a serious conflict would result in heavy casualties on both sides. China does have missle technology that could impact both Taiwan and any carrier groups that the US might send to the area.
Aside from the sheer military casualties, the economies of China and the US are so intertwined that it would be economic suicide for both countries to engage in a prolonged battle. Think of all the "Made in China" stuff that you own, and realize that American companies invest heavily in Chinese subsidiaries. Like it or not, our two countries are tied in economic matrimony, a union that will probably last much longer than our life spans.
Realize also that China has close economic ties to Taiwan. It is naive to think that there is some sort of viceral hatred between the two countries. Hong Kong, being a huge banking center, undoubtly has banking intrests in Taiwan, and Taiwanese electronics manufacturers undoubtly have manufacturing plants on the Mainland. Suffice it to say, war just isn't good business.
Please look past the bullshit and see this for what it is. Sabre rattling and politics. Much like religion/gay marriage is used as a polarizing issue in the US, Taiwanese independance is used as a polarizing issue in Taiwan. Taiwanese politicians condem or condon independance to rile up Taiwanese voters, much like some politicians in the US point to the Ten Commandments or gay marriage to rile up voters here. In order to "save face", the Chinese buracracy must respond in kind. China, conciencious of it's first steps entering the First World, doesn't want to appear weak on the world stage. China feels that other countries won't take it seriously unless it responds to Taiwan, so they make threats of invasion. This, of course, plays right into the politician's hands.
In any case, invasion, and the consequences thereof, is not a situation anyone wants to be in. Not China, not Taiwan, and not the US. Please approach this tense situation with calm and rationality. Don't fall into the politicians' trap. Don't let them make this into a dividing issue. No matter who did what in the past, the reality is that it is the future we should be safeguarding, and military action in the region would lead to a bleak future indeed.