For John, BLUF: Once upon a time Formosa was independent, and then it wasn't and then Chiang Kai-Shek fled Mainland China with his Koumingtang Government and forces and declared he was still the head of China, in the face of control of the Mainland by Mao Zedong, and now, 72 years later, China wants Formosa (Taiwan) "back". Nothing to see here; just move along.
From MSN (Newsweek), John Feng, 13 April 2021.
Here is the lede plus three:
Chinese fighter jets will fly over Taiwan to "declare sovereignty" if relations between Washington and Taipei continue to improve, a prominent state media figure said after Beijing sent 25 warplanes toward the island on Monday.This is definitely a place where open conflict could erupt. Not a guarantee, but we have seen shelling before. On the other hand, if the US becomes embroiled in warfare in Ukraine it might be considered by China as being distracted and an ideal time to move on Taiwan.Hu Xijin, chief editor of China's nationalistic Communist Party newspaper the Global Times, fired back at recent comments by Secretary Antony Blinken and said the military operation was a response to the State Department's loosening of interaction guidelines between officials from the U.S. and Taiwan.
The People's Liberation Army would "step up military pressure" in the event of a further warming of U.S.-Taiwan ties, he said. "If Taiwan forces open fire, that will be the moment of all-out war across the Taiwan Strait," he added.
The People's Republic of China claims ownership of democratic Taiwan despite having never governed it in the seven decades since its founding after the Chinese Civil War. The Chinese government has never renounced the use of force in its ultimate goal of "reunifying" the island, while Taiwan continues to be run as a de facto state and maintains several unofficial, yet crucial, global partners in an ambiguous existence known as the status quo.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
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