3 ms·
A key difference is that the governments of the British colonies in North America were officially installed by, and reported to, Britain. cf. the Taiwanese gov
by i_am_proteus 8y ago
A key difference is that the governments of the British colonies in North America were officially installed by, and reported to, Britain.
cf. the Taiwanese government, the KMT, which at one point controlled the mainland, but was pushed into exile on Taiwan by the communists. The existence of a free Taiwan threatens the legitimacy of the communist government on the mainland: the PRC, like most propaganda-fueled authoritarian regimes, does not like anything that suggests there's an alternative to their system.
- kajecounterhack 8y agoIt's also just not a good analogy because Britain didn't have missiles pointed across the strait, or a humongous military that Taiwan has even acknowledged they can't contend with. Diplomacy is the only thing that's kept Taiwan free in the current state of affairs.
- perennate 8y agoWell, the threat of nuclear war with the U.S. also helps with stability a bit.
- character0 8y agoAnd a US carrier group in the region
- rcao 8y agoAnother key difference is that Taiwan Strait is much narrower than the Atlantic Ocean.