There were there parts of Hong Kong - Hong Kong island, Kowloon, and the New Terrorities. Only the later two were subject to 99 year lease. Hong Kong island was ceded to UK permanently. Legally they didn't need to return the Hong Kong island, but it was too hard to defend the island and they negotiated a 50-year agreement to keep capitalist system instead.
Pete Hegseth: US will go to war to stop China from taking Taiwan
- Thread starter Daniel Nenni
- Start date
In '19 the same youtuber talked about China wanna pay him 330k USD sign-up fee and 50k USD monthly fee for him to stand with their side.
Probably he decided to take the money this year, i.e. his point of view in the video is from Chinese gov't instead of his own.
Just to add some colour:
Taiwan’s former presidential candidate Ko Wen-je charged with bribery
Ko is the second major politician to face anti-graft investigations and charges since President Lai Ching-te took power in May 2024.
www.wsws.org
Thanks Dan - memories of that training, of knowing the routes into the school basement, are still vivid.I remember practicing hiding under our desks in elementary school in case Russia bombed us. We built pretend fallout shelters. Seriously, this was in the 1960s and we were all pretty scared. This was in California by the way, not Kansas. Baby boomers, am I right?
tooLongInEDA
Moderator
Come on. We're mainly engineers here. Opinions should be checked and derated accordingly for known vested interests.
The US has a permanent garrison in South Korea and in Japan, but not TW. This situation has existed for a long time. It is a bit like a bullfighter waving a flag at a bull, encouraging it to run at TW (not JP or Korea). It may be a bit of a trap. Or perhaps, TW is the battleground that the Pacific allies deliberately chose. A war in the Straits could be a somewhat more contained war, less likely to become nuclear.
Another message: Sent from Trump to Canada: Get a military that could defend the USA invading. Canada is one of the worst free riders in NATO. A stronger Canada could also boost Pacific defense.
And the most obvious message, from Hegseth to European powers: You will soon be on your own with Russia. Providing incentives for Europeans to increase defense spending so the USA can focus on the Pacific.
All this architecture existed long before TSMC. Is there a key semiconductor technology in a DJI drone, that might be the balance of power (ie TSMC makes it, China or USA controls it, and that determines the wars outcome)? It seems plausible. It would be ironic if TW was unaware of it and continued to supply it to CCP, arming their enemy.
Another message: Sent from Trump to Canada: Get a military that could defend the USA invading. Canada is one of the worst free riders in NATO. A stronger Canada could also boost Pacific defense.
And the most obvious message, from Hegseth to European powers: You will soon be on your own with Russia. Providing incentives for Europeans to increase defense spending so the USA can focus on the Pacific.
All this architecture existed long before TSMC. Is there a key semiconductor technology in a DJI drone, that might be the balance of power (ie TSMC makes it, China or USA controls it, and that determines the wars outcome)? It seems plausible. It would be ironic if TW was unaware of it and continued to supply it to CCP, arming their enemy.
I am from China, and the Taiwan issue has become unpredictable. Most people in Taiwan are unwilling to reunify with China, but the military power gap has grown too large. After the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump’s passive stance has surely encouraged China to take a more proactive approach to resolving the issue.
In the worst-case scenario: a military invasion. In the best-case scenario: a military blockade. China is actively preparing, and its semiconductor industry is nearly capable of complete decoupling (above 28nm). I have a pessimistic outlook on this issue.
In the worst-case scenario: a military invasion. In the best-case scenario: a military blockade. China is actively preparing, and its semiconductor industry is nearly capable of complete decoupling (above 28nm). I have a pessimistic outlook on this issue.
Lmao. Thanks for the best joke.
2024 Taiwanese presidential election - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
The DPP would have lost the election if the other parties had collaborated. As far as I understand, the person visiting China supports the TPP. Based on the election results, a large portion of the population—at least 50%—seems to prefer a non-military resolution.
I am not sure why you are spreading CCP's falsehood in this forum.
You repeatedly try to equate "peaceful resolution" to be the same as "surrendering to CCP China", and "at least 50%" Taiwanese prefer and are ready for that.
That's just entirely not true! From the small sample of about a dozen of Taiwanese people I work with on a regular basis, not a single person is ready to do what you are saying. Of course who wouldn't prefer peace? But no one is ready to unify with today's CCP, peacefully or militarily !
I really enjoyed and learned from many of your previous comments on AI and specs and performance, etc., but can't agree with your viewpoint on geopolitics and Taiwanese people. Almost copy and pasted from CCP propaganda pamphlets.
US military stockpile was already getting depleted with the Ukraine-Russia war; now we have to deal with the Israel-Iran war, and likely have to supply Israel as well.
I read today that the Nimitz carrier group is leaving the South China sea and is heading to the Middle East. Only one carrier group remains in the Western Pacific. Also 2 of China's carrier groups are already east of Taiwan.
30% of S&P500 depends directly on TSMC and Taiwan. Are we leaving the hen house to the fox?
It almost seems like it's playing out like the way ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu preached - "The greatest victory is that which requires no battle."
I hope our military decision-makers know what they're doing.
I read today that the Nimitz carrier group is leaving the South China sea and is heading to the Middle East. Only one carrier group remains in the Western Pacific. Also 2 of China's carrier groups are already east of Taiwan.
30% of S&P500 depends directly on TSMC and Taiwan. Are we leaving the hen house to the fox?
It almost seems like it's playing out like the way ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu preached - "The greatest victory is that which requires no battle."
I hope our military decision-makers know what they're doing.
Elbridge Colby, who is one of the senior DoD officials who know asia relatively well, told Senate confirmation hearing
-- Taiwan needs to spend 10% of GDP on defense
-- Japan should spend 3%
-- Conflict with China is not necessary
“I’ve always said that Taiwan is very important to the United States. But as you said, it’s not an existential interest,” Colby said. “The core American interest is in denying China regional hegemony.”
Earlier in the hearing, Colby acknowledged that, “Losing Taiwan, Taiwan’s fall, would be a disaster for American interests.” But he said the U.S. military balance with China in the region has declined so drastically that a conflict with China risks decimating the American military.
I follow Bridge Colby's writings and he definitely knows what he's talking about.
The issue is that politics can get in the way of sound decision-making, and like any other administration, this one is also full of lobbyists, special interests, and political appointees.
Incidentally I read that Bridge Colby actually opposed moving the Nimitz carrier group to the Middle East.
Living with with a fox in a henhouse means it's a question of when, and not if, and never why.
People who are still wondering why Russia attacked Ukraine, if it couldn't win, cannot internalize that the question "why" is meaningless here. A de-facto communist state neighbours another powerful country — that fact alone guarantees war.
The conflict is inevitable, and it's better to attack first.
Americans need to understand that, if they are not ready to fight abroad, it means America is leaving the world stage.
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