The Dangerous Situation Between Taiwan, China and the United States………Explained in 5 minutes!

I think the situation developing in Taiwan is MUCH more dangerous than the MSM would lead you to believe. There’s not a doubt in my mind that the weak Biden administration is being challenged by China and this won’t end well.

First a little history about Taiwan. Taiwan is an island off the coast of China with Japan to the north and the Philippines to the south.   It was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century, followed by an influx of Hoklo people including Hakka immigrants from areas of mainland China, across the Taiwan Strait. The Spanish built a settlement in the north for a brief period but were driven out by the Dutch in 1642. In 1644 various dynasties from China defeated the Dutch and took over the island. In 1895 it was ceded to Japan. Taiwan was primarily agricultural producing rice and sugar. During the 1940’s it also served as a base of operation for Japan during WWII and many Taiwanese served in the Japanese army. At the end of the war the Republic of China (ROC) again took control. In 1949, after losing control of mainland China in the Chinese Civil War, the ROC government under the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP) withdrew to Taiwan and Chiang Kai-shek declared martial law. The CNP ruled Taiwan as a single-party state for forty years. Democratic reforms in the 1980’s, led to the first-ever direct presidential election in 1996. During the post-war period, Taiwan experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth known as the “Taiwan Miracle“, and was known as one of the “Four Asian Tigers“.

In the 1980’s China began pursuing the reunification of China which included Taiwan. Taiwan rejected the offer, but it did relax rules on visits to and investment in China. In 2000, Taiwan elected Chen Shui-bian as president who was openly supportive of Taiwan’s independence. A year after Chen was re-elected in 2004, China passed an anti-secession law, stating China’s right to use “non-peaceful means” against Taiwan if it tried to “secede” from China. Chen was succeeded by Ma Ying-jeou, who after taking office in 2008, sought to improve relations with China through economic agreements. In 2016, Taiwan’s current president Tsai Ing-wen was elected. She leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which leans towards eventual official independence from China. After Trump won the 2016 election, Ms. Tsai spoke to him on the phone – a break with US policy set in 1979, when formal relations were cut.  Despite having no formal ties, the US has pledged to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons and has stressed any attack by China would cause “grave concern”.

So here we are. Throughout 2018, China stepped up pressure on international companies, forcing them to list Taiwan as a part of China on their websites and threatening to block them for doing business in China if they failed to comply. Another example of China’s growing power in the region is the other island , Hong Kong. They have had a high degree of autonomy but China governed them by the principle of “one country, two systems” Recently China has been exerting much more control over them. Under new laws, street protest is all but impossible, internet providers can be ordered by the police to take down content, and journalists face arbitrary visa rejections. Sound familiar to somewhere closer to home? So what has China been doing about Taiwan recently that should raise our concern?

The U.S. has increased it’s verbal support of Taiwan’s independence. Last September, D.C. sent the highest-level state department official in decades to visit the island. China strongly criticized the meeting, warning the US “not to send any wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ elements to avoid severe damage to China-US relations”. During the controversial visit, China conducted a live-fire military exercise in the waterway that separates the island from the mainland. Then Joe Biden gets elected. The administration says that their commitment to Taiwan is “rock solid”. In the first few days of Biden’s presidency, Taiwan reported a “large incursion” by Chinese warplanes over two days. Then on April 12th, the Taiwanese government said China flew the largest number of military jets into its air defense zone in over a year. Right now the #1 movie in China is based on China defeating the U.S.! Admiral John Aquilino, head of the Pentagon’s Indo-Pacific command has warned that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan “is much closer to us than most think”.

So what happens if China invades Taiwan? Taiwanese army doctrine calls for heavy armor to strike back against Chinese invasion troops landing on Taiwan’s beaches. The Taiwanese army on paper possesses around 1,200 main battle tanks and recently purchased 108 new M-1 tanks from the United States for $1.3 billion. It would likely be a very violent battle with a lot of casualties. China could easily blockade Taiwan’s ports. What would the U.S. do if China invades or blockades Taiwan. Biden has said the “U.S. will respond”. After the catastrophic retreat from Afghanistan, China and Russia have exploited Biden’s abandonment of a supposed ally. I’m sure Taiwan is wondering what “responding” to an incursion by China REALLY means! Biden has also insinuated that we have NATO-like treaties with Japan and South Korea that would lead to their defense, known as the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, but that was repealed by the Jimmy Carter administration and had nothing to do with Taiwan! Biden has no idea what he’s talking about and China knows it! The current Taiwan Relations Act which was approved by Congress in 1979 does not guarantee the U.S. defense of the country in the event of an attack. Instead, it contains a provision that calls for the supply of arms to the country for its defense, such as that sale of tanks. Actual troops on the ground is unlikely.

So there you have it. A VERY dangerous situation that has been made worse by a President with dementia and the lowest approval ratings EVER in the first year of their administration. Can Russia invading Ukraine be far behind? With this administration ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.