Interesting and informative interview. However, I think there is a very large misunderstanding that is very dangerous. There seems to be an assumption that because Lai won only 40%, the remaining 60% majority support unification with the mainland which is far from the truth - there is very little support in TW for unification with China. A drop in DPP support is due to reasons unrelated to mainland China, as can be seen by the TPP's strong showing. The problem with such an assumption is that it suggests TW won't willingly progress towards any type of non-coerced peaceful unification. This is made even more certain because Beijing's refusal to engage with the DPP makes the likelihood of further economic /cultural integration even less likely, making peaceful unification a distant dream, especially as time passes and new generations grow up.
Once Beijing admits that, the only options left to unify TW is some type of military one. Either outright invasion or such overwhelming military force as to compel surrender, both options which will be resisted by the US and allies to the point of war. Given that a future conflict seems very likely, the US has every reason to try and contain/reduce Chinese power, whether military, economic, or other as much as possible.
And that is where we are today, and without addressing the underlying reasons behind this, we are headed straight towards a situation of an increasingly cold war that will eventually turn into a hot one
Interesting and informative interview. However, I think there is a very large misunderstanding that is very dangerous. There seems to be an assumption that because Lai won only 40%, the remaining 60% majority support unification with the mainland which is far from the truth - there is very little support in TW for unification with China. A drop in DPP support is due to reasons unrelated to mainland China, as can be seen by the TPP's strong showing. The problem with such an assumption is that it suggests TW won't willingly progress towards any type of non-coerced peaceful unification. This is made even more certain because Beijing's refusal to engage with the DPP makes the likelihood of further economic /cultural integration even less likely, making peaceful unification a distant dream, especially as time passes and new generations grow up.
Once Beijing admits that, the only options left to unify TW is some type of military one. Either outright invasion or such overwhelming military force as to compel surrender, both options which will be resisted by the US and allies to the point of war. Given that a future conflict seems very likely, the US has every reason to try and contain/reduce Chinese power, whether military, economic, or other as much as possible.
And that is where we are today, and without addressing the underlying reasons behind this, we are headed straight towards a situation of an increasingly cold war that will eventually turn into a hot one