Originally posted by: KFCrispy
So basically you want China to invade and people to DIE, and Taiwan to continue in this "strategic" do-nothing gain-nothing formula... if the US never makes any progress whatsoever--i'm not asking for an all-out defiance of China--then nothing will ever progress. China will simply overtake Taiwan and then all of Asia. Japan will be next. why? because if China has the Taiwan Strait and access to the Pacific rim, they can block or tax the shipping route and deploy submarines undetected into the other side--the big other side, where Hawaii and California sit.
the US has made small leaps forward in the past and needs to continue. one example is the Taiwan Relations Act and Clinton sending ships into the Strait when China fired missiles during the 1996 presidential election. the Taiwanese community has asked the Democratic party to reinstate its pledge to the Taiwan Relations Act (Gore 2000 Platform had it, and the section on China/Taiwan was copied word for word for this year's Platform with only the sentence on the TRA removed). however, the Congress recently bsaically reiterated the TRA with a "re-support" vote. that's a good thing. because China is building its military and even is planning for US and Japanese aide, as well as its military chief talking about the year 2020 for Taiwan (in CNN's article
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/07/15/china.taiwan.wargames.reut/index.html,, he said "either before or after 2020"... why would he even say 2020 if it's before or after), the situation needs to be dealt with. and we can take baby-steps now, but if Taiwan isn't able to defend its turf whenever China invades, China can easily take all of Asia.. then the world. it's extreme, i know, but Hitler said he'd be satisfied when Europe let him take some country (sorry forgot.. the first one he invaded?), and obviously that didn't fully satisfy him.... but what i emphasize is simple basic human rights for Taiwan. as a US citizen, it is one of the few thing i can do to actually help.
i just want to bring this issue from the bottom of the drawer to near the top of the major issues list for the President, whoever it may be. and while it's JUST basic rights for Taiwan, i believe there is an even greater danger for the world. furthermore, the US will simply lose its power as China grows, and anyone challenging the US's place in the world is kind of "an enemy", especially if it can't be trusted. this is going too extreme, yeah, but those are serious implications that need to be thought about if you simply care about money over freedom and democracy.
