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I agree, but do try to keep an open mind. This "reclaim" stuff seems like it really doesn't recognize the reality of the civil war at all, it just comes off as

I agree, but do try to keep an open mind. This "reclaim" stuff seems like it really doesn't recognize the reality of the civil war at all, it just comes off as a way to make invading peaceful neighbors whose stuff you want seem like it's the status quo rather than an extreme step opposed in force by the local population. It makes no sense. I'm sure the media is biased towards prioritizing reporting about the India/China border conflict, the China/Taiwan conflict, the China/Vietnam conflict, the China/Indonesia conflict... but still, those are all significant conflicts. I buy that they're being more heavily reported on, but not that the facts are literally incorrect. It's not like I'm getting news from NPR, and the publisher definitely has no great attachement to US hegemony.

FooBarWidget 5y ago
I'm Chinese so I have seen both sides of opinions. Here are some alternative perspectives. Your comment seems to be saying: because the fighting stopped for so long and because the Taiwan side largely wishes to separate, they have a moral right to do so. This fits with the western self-determination principle. Yet this idea can create absolutely perverse incentives. The Chinese side could interpret this as: cease-fire is bad. In other words: China should never have stopped fighting, so that westerners cannot claim that Taiwan is a "peaceful neighbor". You see this sort of perverse incentive in the legal world. Disney cracks down on grandma who made a Micky Mouse shirt for her grandson because if Disney doesn't enforce their intellectual property rights then they will lose it. Another issue is that military activity on Taiwan from China is nearly always related to moves by forces that try to upend the status quo, e.g. US military activity or Taiwanese activists that push harder for official independence. For the example the latest fighter jet sorties are instigated by US warships nearby. Yet this relationship is nearly never reported by western MSM: they universally paint China's actions as unilateral aggression with no trigger. I'm all for peace. I also think that the status quo is the best way to achieve that. Unfortunately it seems westerners don't understand that China also prefers status quo. In thinking that China prefers military takeover, western countries create a situation (by sending warships to "defend" Taiwan) in which they encourage China to actually militarily take over. Insane. What's more, this tendency by the west to create self-fulfilling prophesies is not limited to the Taiwan issue, but also to many other Chinese issues. All because of the west's own biases and refusal to see China for what it is instead of what they think it is.
- mensetmanusman 5y ago
  I wonder if China will fall for the trap being set (to take military action). China absolutely should wait another 50 years before making a move when they are squarely #1 in power and have settled differences with neighbors (who are all mad at them right now).
  - FooBarWidget 5y ago
    As for the neighbors: it's more complex than that. Many neighbors are also mad at each other. The disputes are not merely Chinese. I do hope for more resolutions. Some are already solved, but some are quite difficult.

FooBarWidget 5y ago

I'm Chinese so I have seen both sides of opinions. Here are some alternative perspectives. Your comment seems to be saying: because the fighting stopped for so long and because the Taiwan side largely wishes to separate, they have a moral right to do so. This fits with the western self-determination principle. Yet this idea can create absolutely perverse incentives. The Chinese side could interpret this as: cease-fire is bad. In other words: China should never have stopped fighting, so that westerners cannot claim that Taiwan is a "peaceful neighbor". You see this sort of perverse incentive in the legal world. Disney cracks down on grandma who made a Micky Mouse shirt for her grandson because if Disney doesn't enforce their intellectual property rights then they will lose it. Another issue is that military activity on Taiwan from China is nearly always related to moves by forces that try to upend the status quo, e.g. US military activity or Taiwanese activists that push harder for official independence. For the example the latest fighter jet sorties are instigated by US warships nearby. Yet this relationship is nearly never reported by western MSM: they universally paint China's actions as unilateral aggression with no trigger. I'm all for peace. I also think that the status quo is the best way to achieve that. Unfortunately it seems westerners don't understand that China also prefers status quo. In thinking that China prefers military takeover, western countries create a situation (by sending warships to "defend" Taiwan) in which they encourage China to actually militarily take over. Insane. What's more, this tendency by the west to create self-fulfilling prophesies is not limited to the Taiwan issue, but also to many other Chinese issues. All because of the west's own biases and refusal to see China for what it is instead of what they think it is.

mensetmanusman 5y ago
I wonder if China will fall for the trap being set (to take military action). China absolutely should wait another 50 years before making a move when they are squarely #1 in power and have settled differences with neighbors (who are all mad at them right now).
- FooBarWidget 5y ago
  As for the neighbors: it's more complex than that. Many neighbors are also mad at each other. The disputes are not merely Chinese. I do hope for more resolutions. Some are already solved, but some are quite difficult.