The joker in the deal is the US neocons. They are determined to incite a declaration of independence, because they actually want a war with China, and they are deluded enough to think the US will win.

Maybe, but probably not before the Israel dumpster fire goes as bad as Ukraine dumpster fire got and there’s demand for some other news.

Although Bolton and Pompeo are history, Trump still hangs out with neocons and Zionists. He will be a war president like every president since Washington.

Wonder of wonders. «Show me the American isolationist foreign-policy professionals.» Because if there aren’t any, the choice of US foreign-policy professionals amounts to picking either
A: proglodites, or
B: neocons.
They both predictably suck, and everyone not eating the same shrooms as they do knows this. But who else? Do any other variants actually exist in the observable Universe right now?

Gaikokumaniakku says:

You will find that the English-language press is out of touch.

Isn’t it always?

Even more than the rest of their ilk, that is.

A substantial minority of Taiwanese want reunification if they get everything on a huge wish list, but they know the PRC will not give them most of that wish list.

“That’s what the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) is all about.”

No. The KMT is all about making believe that the KMT is still as strong in 2025 as it was in 1955. In their saner moments, KMT supporters are able to distinguish between planet Earth and the Land of Make-Believe, but even when they know they are lying, they are still able to make political gains from lying, so they are not going to stop.

If you want to learn about Taiwan, walk around the streets of Taiwan and speak to the locals in their own dialects. You will find that the English-language press is out of touch.

In recent parliamentary elections, the Chinese Nationalist Party won 52 seats. The Democratic Progressive Party, the independence party, secured 51 seats (down from 68). The Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate, William Lai, got 40% of the popular vote (down from 57% previously), and will be a minority president.

So, the last presidential/parliamentary election suggests that support for independence is now in the minority. This is all to the better, because China has made it clear that it will invade if Taiwan declares independence. All war games show a decided Chinese victory.

The joker in the deal is the US neocons. They are determined to incite a declaration of independence, because they actually want a war with China, and they are deluded enough to think the US will win.

Although Bolton and Pompeo are history, Trump still hangs out with neocons and Zionists. He will be a war president like every president since Washington. Expect more disasters, hopefully not nuclear.