Chinese President Xi Jinping recently warned the United States not to play with fire on Taiwan. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to play with fire by showing up, talking to Taiwanese leaders, offering citizens a moment of hope and giving Xi an excuse for violence.
His most expert way of playing with fire has been shouting maniacal threats, flying warplanes over Taiwan and deploying weapons apparently to prepare the military to kill Taiwanese multitudes in a war on global consequences.
President Joe Biden, the US military and various government officials were unenthusiastic about Pelosi’s visit, seeking to avoid risking a lot for very little. Others said that running away from rhetoric would make us look like cowards, forcing our allies to run away from our protection despite our Ukrainian vigor. Belligerent, cruel and dictatorial as he runs for a third term as the kind of president he thinks everyone wants, Xi embraces a historic goal of the world’s greatest nation also becoming its dominant power while remaining unpunished for punishing others.
A new punishment on his part would be to violently reunite Taiwan and China. They separated after World War II, Taiwan gradually becoming a prosperous democratic republic respecting human rights and not having to suffer the murderous ruin of Mao Tse-tung from which China surprisingly recovered despite the despotism who continues to have fun. There was an agreement that the two countries would meet under peaceful circumstances and shared understandings, but the peace is receding and the political separation is oceanic even as China sees the meeting as crucial to its ugly ambitions.
In a display of administrative incompetence of the kind usually reserved for satire, Biden said at least three times that the United States would support Taiwan if it were attacked by China while his aides refuted his remarks as not being. sure. Certainly, a protracted war anytime soon could be terrible for the United States even if we win, in part because of what we are already going through economically and otherwise.
Still, the optimists note, we have an incredible military and perhaps Taiwan could be saved by a few quick encounters. Skeptics say we haven’t kept the military up to date with more long-range missiles and ships, and point out that nuclear-happy, cyber-savvy, satellite-slick China has hypersonic missiles that our missile defense system cannot counteract. Returning to the favorable outlook, we would fight alongside Taiwan with the help of Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand. A major advantage is that NATO has become aware of Asian dangers and Western slippage and could engage.
It may not work as an alternative to war at this point, but what I think is essential in a future without China in charge is that the United States and the best of them cancel their dependence on this second richest country in the world. because he breaks just about every rule to serve his own interests. Decent nations must unite for international organizations, banks, corporations and other nations to stop the looting, violence, destruction and sometimes outright evil that is tearing apart the international good and robbing the future of our highest aspirations. more noble.
Consider that China steals hundreds of billions of dollars of our technology and intellectual property every year. President Barack Obama unfortunately gave shrewd China a spot on his panel on the Iran deal, his lack of wisdom being revealed by the fact that China is now getting oil as it invests $400 billion in Iran over 25 years. Along with peace dividends such as infrastructure, Iran receives aid to create new weapons, spy and prepare its troops for combat.
To prove their ethical rot, Chinese leaders kill and incarcerate Chinese Muslims, a violation of human rights. Do you remember the crash of Hong Kong? China also supports deadly fentanyl producers inside the country who ship their product to Mexican cartels crossing the United States to help kill 100,000 American drug addicts a year.
The list is long, but determination with the heart can perhaps help end the abuses and save Taiwan as the first in a series of meltdowns without the Chinese people themselves also falling victim.
