As a completely irrelevant aside, the first and still only example I can recall of Taiwan entering Irish popular cultural consciousness (before the inevitable Chinese invasion of the mid 2020s) was at the 2000 drawn All-Ireland football semi-final between Kerry and Armagh.
Some of the young Armagh supporters, high on Buckfast and/or cheap cans of lager, and spiky and confrontational in that endearing Armagh way, were looking for a chant to wind up the Kerry folk.
What they came up with was “Kerry’s made in Taiwan, Kerry’s made in Taiwan, na na na na, na na na na”, to the tune of the 50/50 Cashback ad - @Fagan_ODowd will probably blast me out of it for not knowing the name of the original piece of music that ad was based on.
Presumably this chant was a reference to Kerry’s kit in the 1998/99 period being made by Adidas, though by the time of the 2000 semi-final the GAA had forced them to switch to O’Neills under the protectionist rule, just waiting to be blitzed in the European court, that kit manufacturers had to be of Irish origin.
This chant was used again at the replay and for the 2002 All-Ireland final, and “Not Made In Taiwan” was even added in smaller writing to the corner of the ICONIC “Garvaghy Road Orangeman On Tour” banner which was a familiar sight at Armagh games in the 1990s and 2000s.
It may be, but it’s military technology is od and rudimentary.
The Chinese won’t necessarily do a good old time invasion if they were to invade. They’d cripple the country first with cyber attacks and then isolate it with intelligent submarine mines and drones. American battleship grpups might be deployed, but they wouldn’t get anywhere near the place.
If the Chinese invaded, a shot wouldn’t be fired.
In saying that, I’d agree with @Tim_Riggins analysis above, they’ll saber rattle, but bidness comes first.
Xi is in trouble at home. I think a palace coup is likely in the next year or two. If he’s desperate he might invade, but even if this was to pass, the military leadership and politburo may resist his orders.
I don’t know if that cyber stuff works in the real world. The Russians tried it in Ukraine but in the end it has come down to good old rocket pounding.
The Russians are an incompetent blunt force fighting this years version of Stalingrad.
The Chinese are far more sophisticated. What’s probably more important is the Chinese won’t do anything without knowing what the outcome will be and what winning would actually cost them.
The Chinese are in no rush, they think in centuries, not years. Look at how they took Hong Kong. The Brits gave it to them and shook their hand for a finish up. They will wait for the time to be right and swoop in. Now the right time could be in a few weeks, but they’ll wait until they see it.
I’d say they were planning on the Russians taking Ukraine, the West backing down and then they’d go for Taiwan. But the bit of NATO steel might worry them enough to hold tough.