Reply #7: The Strange Thing About It Is

[On the Road]

that both Taiwan and China believe they're part of the same country. They both believe in a unified China. It's a disagreement on who is the legitimate government, and is part of the whole centuries-old idea of China as a political, cultural and ethnic unity.

In the West countries split and change borders all the time. It China the idea of "one China" along traditional borders is almost a religious doctrine. The movie hero is chilling (to me), but it shows how incredibly strong the belief in "one country" is.

There is certainly a lot of saber rattling, I just doubt it's ever likely to amount to anything, any more than America was ever going to invade the Soviet Union. (And we had a president who joked about outlawing Russia and beginning bombing in five minutes.)

China could probably defeat Taiwan without US intervention. But by doing that, China would not only kill people on both sides, but start hostilities with the US and cripple their export economy. That's what makes it unlikely. There are too many other problems they're trying to solve. In the meantime, the countries are establishing closer links. Stalemates can go on for a long time. It will take decades, but I would expect this to have a peaceful resolution.

And BTW, I appreciate the way you brought this up with your experiences rather than just flaming away.