Taiwan tells China to piss off...

[Nubclear]

Thats not a very good reason

[Drake Tungsten]

What is preventing Taiwan from just shutting up, thereby avoiding this situation altogether?

A sincere belief that their internal politics shouldn't be meddled in by an undemocratic and threatening neighbor?

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
They also said that they don't oppose Taiwanese independence either. Seems like they aren't telling Chen anything...

Sure they are. "If you can make the sun rise in the west, pigs fly, and pull off independence by not rocking the boat with China, that's no skin off our ass, and good luck to ya, bro'

[Drake Tungsten]

Sure they are. "If you can make the sun rise in the west, pigs fly, and pull off independence by not rocking the boat with China, that's no skin off our ass, and good luck to ya, bro'

True enough. I stand corrected.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

What is preventing Taiwan from just shutting up, thereby avoiding this situation altogether?

A sincere belief that their internal politics shouldn't be meddled in by an undemocratic and threatening neighbor?

Pride for security? Sounds like a good exchange to me.

[Drake Tungsten]

China doesn't have the balls (or the navy) to actually invade Taiwan. They're just saber rattling and the Taiwanese seems like they might finally be calling the Chinese bluff. More power to them.

[MichaeltheGreat]

China won't let Taiwan go independent, anymore than the Brits would let those 13 colonies of rabble rousers go independent. China may not have the means to take Taiwan whole, but they could turn it into a smoking crater, or just let that prospect starve Taiwan of formal diplomatic recognition, foreign investment and trade. The rest of the world would make the obvious choice - a little resourceless overcrowded rock, of the biggest market/pool of near-captive cheap labor in the world.

[Drake Tungsten]

God, you're ruining all my fun, MtG...

or just let that prospect starve Taiwan of formal diplomatic recognition, foreign investment and trade. The rest of the world would make the obvious choice - a little resourceless overcrowded rock, of the biggest market/pool of near-captive cheap labor in the world.

I think the PRC will go with this route. No need to endure the international condemnation and risk of war with the U.S. inherent in any attempt to turn a democratic Taiwan into a smoking crater when you can achieve the same thing without firing a shot.

I don't think Taiwan will declare independence, though, at any rate. There's really no benefit to it.

[MichaeltheGreat]

They have to realize that the entire world will hang them out to dry. Small resourceless countries or wannabe countries just don't rate.

It's the old saying about having no permanent allies or permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
God, you're ruining all my fun, MtG...

I know, I'm sorry, troll away.

[Drake Tungsten]

Nah, it's time to drink now. To Taiwanese independence, of course...

[Saras]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
The rest of the world would make the obvious choice - a little resourceless overcrowded rock, of the biggest market/pool of near-captive cheap labor in the world.

Unless you're populated by white indoeuropeans - the world did say "shove it" to Rooskies once the Baltics re-declared independence in 1990-1991.

[Q Classic]

go taiwan! iirc, i don't know if this is still the case, but during the cold war, there was a under-the-table and somewhat gentleman's agreement that skorea and japan and taiwan would come to each others aid in the event either one came under attack from the evil red communists.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat


The AEGIS CG carries a max of 96 SM2ER missiles, IIRC. Assuming we wanted to play ball in that court (and who's kidding who, the Walton clan wouldn't allow it, not to mention every other US corporation that's pimping off cheap PRC labor), we'd run out of missiles before they would.

That assumes that numerous missles aren't destroyed on the ground before they can be launched.

[Alinestra Covelia]

This reminds me of a storyline my brother and his pals wrote when they were freshmen and messing around with a video camera. This was over a year ago so my memory's not that great but if I recall correctly it went something like this:

It was to have featured plenty of very hammy and overdone martial arts capers and frolics, carried out against the backdrop of worsening political relations between China and Taiwan. Something about spies and politicians engaging in martial arts, for some odd reason. So basically Jackie Chan meets James Bond, done by the Hammerfest Horror director - sort of thing.

Anyway, to my point. The very last scene in this woeful homemade video would have taken place just as the Chinese ambassador and the Taiwanese ambassador were dueling in the back alleys with swords and flails, with a radio broadcast in the background having this Beijing accent political voice saying that they are prepping and arming the nukes to "unite the motherland".

Halfway through, just as it looks like the Chinese ambassador is about to do a Keurgen on the Taiwanese guy, there's static on the radio and then the Beijing voice on the radio announces a back down. He makes a moving speech saying that it's time that fellow Chinese on both sides of the strait stopped threatening each other and started living like brothers and sisters instead, and that unification could only be achieved through peace and so they would be turning their nukes away from Taiwan, never to turn them back.

The two ambassadors get up and shake hands and embrace as the radio voice continues "And so we're going to point the nukes at Japan instead." and everybody starts cheering.