ListNook

yuje Apr 15, 2026 +484

This is only mildly tangential to the news, but has anyone noticed from the picture how tall Chen Li-Wun is? Xi Jinping is one of the tallest Chinese leaders in recent history at 5’11 or 6’, and yet Chen Li-Wun is standing as tall as him while wearing flats. Compared to the average Taiwanese, she’s got some downright Amazonian proportions.

484

Jonmc88 Apr 15, 2026 +89

Frame mogged.

89

HughGrimes Apr 15, 2026 +104

Xi is not as tall as he says he is

104

Mr_Itlog Apr 15, 2026 +74

He appears to be the same height as Trump in their photos together.

74

HughGrimes Apr 15, 2026 +26

Both lie about their height. Cheng has no reason to do so.

26

zashuna Apr 15, 2026 +38

Xi Jinping hasn't "lied about his height", because he has never publicly stated how tall he is. All speculation about his height are just estimates from Western sources. Trump, on the other hand, has stated he is 6'3, which is a lie. He's probably closer to 6', so 5'11-6' is probably correct for Xi. Either way, this means Cheng is very tall, especially for a woman.

38

Uvtha- Apr 15, 2026 +13

Trump is like 6 even, but says he's 6'3. You can see him a bit shorter than a lot of people that are 6'2. So Xi is probably a little under 6 foot.

13

KingBubzVI Apr 15, 2026 +13

Xi is in his 70s. He was probably 6’ or very close in his younger years, and has lost a couple inches. Trump claims 6’3 and wears lifts, and is still only about the same height as Xi. Very bad faith to equate the two on this

13

LobCatchPassThrow Apr 15, 2026 +12

In either case she do be a L O N G G I R L.

12

Mr_Itlog Apr 15, 2026 +1

Especially for an Asian.

1

PetyrDayne Apr 15, 2026 +12

When has he ever publicly stated how tall he was?

12

5m3lly_paj33t Apr 15, 2026 +2

But he said it though?

2

PyroIsSpai Apr 15, 2026 +16

Does her having equal visual stature have any historic cultural significance?

16

yuje Apr 15, 2026 +20

Tall, statuesque, Amazonian women do have great historical significance into my own personal, errr, opinions, but that would hardly be appropriate for me to comment on in WorldNews.

20

fury420 Apr 15, 2026 +186

Okay and what does Taiwan say?

186

Necessary-Visit-2011 Apr 15, 2026 +279

As of recent polling 87% say no to reunification.

279

JohnGazman Apr 15, 2026 +141

That's probably why he met the pro-China *opposition* leader instead of the country's actual leader.

141

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +64

We prefer to call it ‘unification’ in Taiwan. The Qing dynasty never fully colonised or controlled Taiwan so it’s a bit off to have the ‘re’ in the front.

64

tempest51 Apr 15, 2026 +119

> The Qing dynasty never fully colonised or controlled Taiwan This is just straight up bullshit, who the f*** is [Shen Baozhen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shen_Baozhen) then?

119

TheWhiteManticore Apr 15, 2026 +31

The entire comment section is just filled with propaganda bots, sad to see unfortunately

31

Crimsonsworn Apr 15, 2026 +7

Did you read what you posted? Because it doesn’t say he conquered South Taiwan, just that he launched a military campaign and initiated a building program to establish a stronger presence to prevent others from colonising the area

7

BreathPuzzleheaded80 Apr 15, 2026 +10

The Qing dynasty didn't go into the Eastern mountains to massacre indigenous Taiwanese. But the Han Chinese people(97% of the Taiwanese today) living in Western Taiwan were all under direct rule by the Qing. The Qing nominally owned the entire island and ceded the whole thing to Japan in 1895. That's why Japan surrendered it to the Chinese government in 1945.

10

Zeikos Apr 15, 2026 +11

Don't both follow an one China policy? Did the RoC change its claims over the mainland?

11

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +19

From 1991 on, Taiwan no longer pretends to make claims over Chinese territory. While the ROC constitution hasn’t changed, that’s for a reason - it constitutes a ‘red line’ for China. Triggering an invasion doesn’t work in Taiwan’s interests. It’s easier just to keep pretending while maintaining the status quo - which is independence anyway. The ‘One China Policy’ is actually the One China Principle and it is primarily a Chinese narrative though Taiwan’s opposition KMT still play along to some degree. The annoying but necessary way that Taiwan’s leaders frame the situation to avoid angering the bear across the strait too much is that the ROC is a sovereign state. Taiwan and China are separately governed and Taiwanese people should decide the future of Taiwan. This allows Taiwan’s current leaders to delay any decision on formal declarations or name changes - which is the preference of most Taiwanese. The hope is that eventually there will be leadership in China that will allow for official recognition of Taiwan (unlikely but hopeful). Most Taiwanese support this view since Taiwan is already independent - just without widespread diplomatic recognition - and life here is good. Why rock the boat?

19

Aromatic_Lab_9405 Apr 15, 2026 +18

The Qing dynasty is long dead anyway. The CCP never controlled Taiwan, so your point is still valid. The "re" is just propaganda there. What's so absurd about this whole topic anyway is that the topic is always China trying to take control of Taiwan, but that's not what would be actually good for the people (of China). If you look into happiness studies (IMO that's one of the prime indicators one should look at in political topics), the people of Taiwan are happier compared to China. So it seems that Chinese people would benefit more from a governance similar to Taiwan's. 🤷

18

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +12

Chinese people would benefit from more freedoms and democracy in the long term I’m sure - but that’s not really relevant to Taiwanese people. If the Chinese people want authoritarian leaders to (quite successfully) manage their nation building and economic growth, good for them. Taiwan’s system also works very well. We are happy here.

12

BreathPuzzleheaded80 Apr 15, 2026 +2

The ROC never controlled Taiwan before 1945. The only reason Japan surrendered Taiwan to ROC was because it represented China.

2

smexypelican Apr 15, 2026 +7

Thank you for spreading this important distinction fellow Taiwanese fellow. I like to just say that the Chinese Communist Party has never controlled Taiwan. Same idea, there is no "re."

7

thinkabetterworld Apr 15, 2026 +15

Most people in the island of Taiwan prefer to keep the status quo which has been at threat due to extreme politics. Not sure about those living in island of Kinmen which is just a hop from Fujian. They probably be happy with a new bridge to rid of the need to boat around.

15

Fateor42 Apr 14, 2026 +535

A reminder that only 13% of Taiwan's people actually want reunification.

535

random20190826 Apr 15, 2026 +215

Not surprising, and everyone knows the reason is autocracy. If China was democratic, I bet it would be close to 90%. After all, what’s not to love about the second most populous country on Earth that is right next door and speaks the same language? Source: I am a Chinese Canadian who knows enough about cross strait issues.

215

SomethingLegoRelated Apr 15, 2026 +200

honestly the funniest thing to happen to world politics right now would be fo them to magically find some agreeable middle ground and solve such a long standing issue diplomatically without the need for threats or violence. Not saying plausible, just hilarious with the current world climate.

200

Xylus1985 Apr 15, 2026 +94

Then Taiwan leader will probably be assassinated or otherwise deposed quickly, replaced by someone who hates China

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itsANOMALEEZ Apr 15, 2026 +89

You speak CIA

89

PatBenatari Apr 15, 2026 +22

OIL is the middle ground, China and Iran can get it for Taiwan.

22

meerkat2018 Apr 15, 2026 +9

I’m wondering if unification could theoretically work if China restructured the political system to allow political parties and presidential candidates from Taiwan. If it’s real unification, the political systems should also merge, right?

9

Initial-Return8802 Apr 15, 2026 +23

There's already a Taiwanese party, they have the set up to *be* democratic if they want to be. A lot of the lower levels of politics in China are (you vote for your mayor etc) The main issue is China's National People's Congress has basically zero power, despite a lot of different parties etc - you hit a wall as you climb the chain and *must* be under CPC/one party system to get any actual real power But the system itself wouldn't take too much tweaking if they decided to actually be more democratic

23

WhiskersMcGee09 Apr 15, 2026 +15

Part of Chinas main strength is that they’re NOT democratic. It’s not going anywhere any time soon. Appreciate you weren’t directly saying that, just don’t see it happening - not during Xi anyway.

15

Sinaaaa Apr 15, 2026 +2

Well maybe it would, because that would imply a huge democratic shift in mainland China. In practice of course they would never allow it. The "one country two systems" has been their best chance, but the party / ξ could not bear with it. Unfortunately there is probably an over 70% chance that we'll see an attack happen within the next 10 years, 50% for within 3.

2

grilledcheeseburger Apr 15, 2026 +2

50% is way too high. There’s a chance for sure, but it’s not a toss-up in the immediate future.

2

random20190826 Apr 15, 2026

I wonder what it would take for China to abandon any threats of violence. But I think that won’t happen unless the CCP goes away. The truth is, both China and Taiwan are rapidly depopulating at a terrifying rate and before long, invasion threats become pointless because China won’t have enough manpower to mount an offensive attack.

0

DoomguyFemboi Apr 15, 2026 +6

Isn't that a problem that would take a century for it to be a problem ?

6

insomniasureshot Apr 15, 2026 +31

Honestly all Xi has to do is come out and say definitively there are no plans for an invasion and move towards reconciliation. He’d guarantee peace in the Pacific at a time of world wide instability and place China as the global leader of soft power. Not to mention it would probably land both parties a Nobel Peace Prize for whatever that’s worth these days.

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snsv Apr 15, 2026 +10

But will he get the FIFA one?

10

jinzo222 Apr 15, 2026 +20

You really think USA will allow China and Taiwan to get friendly? USA needs Taiwan to blockade China

20

coronakillme Apr 15, 2026 +2

Well i think most people with that knowledge ate probably fired and replaced by now.

2

IdeallyIdeally Apr 15, 2026 +19

The CIA would not let Taiwan reconcile with China. Taiwan forms an important link in their first island chain strategy to contain China and keep them out of the Pacific.

19

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +28

That’s really stripping Taiwan of agency. Taiwanese people can think for themselves - and have built a fantastic country on their own. Chinese intelligence and propaganda from China play a far greater role and threat than anything the CIA gets up to. I’ve had the great fortune of living in Taiwan for nearly a decade now. This idea that the country is somehow a puppet of the USA is ridiculous and false. Is there influence? Of course - the asshat Americans try and influence all countries, especially those with strategic value. Is there more interference coming from the autocratic country 160km away who is desperate to take Taiwan and speaks the same language? Of course.

28

Alexexy Apr 15, 2026

Bro, the US overthrew countless Latin american countries when the self determinism of those country's citizens dont line up with the geopolitical or business goals of the US. As long as the US wants to contain China, the US cannot let Taiwan reunite with China.

0

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +19

Taiwan is a long way from the United States and with China next door, is a very different situation. Ignoring China’s current interference in Taiwan politics and media is wild, too. Taiwan is not a puppet of the United States. It’s an independent country that is stuck with two major players interfering in its domestic affairs.

19

wKoS256N8It2 Apr 15, 2026 +9

These people can't really see each countries (i.e. groups of people) as entities with agencies. Well to be fair, if they are planning to crush them into pools of blood, sure, pools of blood aren't entities with agencies.

9

AnonHideaki Apr 15, 2026 +5

Taiwan's institutions are a lot stronger than those Latin American countries

5

Frostivus Apr 15, 2026 +2

You should probably read about the CIA operations in Tibet.

2

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +7

Do you think the Chinese aren’t doing the same but many many multiples more? The Americans are unreliable with a horrible foreign policy. Their track record is awful. The current administration is full of war criminals. I don’t understand what you’re trying to get across? The fact that the Americans do horrible things doesn’t excuse Chinese actions.

7

jeaxz74 Apr 15, 2026 +6

This is exactly why China wants to reunify because otherwise USA will always be at China door.

6

ExpressDog4526 Apr 15, 2026 +8

Well that and honestly the US really needs TSM. If China controlled the flow of that plus the rare earth minerals. The US would not be sitting pretty.

8

smexypelican Apr 15, 2026 +6

There is no "reunify," the Chinese Communist Party has never controlled Taiwan. The word you are looking for is "invade."

6

jeaxz74 Apr 15, 2026 -4

Reunify the Chinese people with or without ccp but western media has told you otherwise

-4

smexypelican Apr 15, 2026 +11

There is no "reunifying" anything. It's been 76 years since the civil war, and the generation that escaped to Taiwan are dying off. Most Taiwanese today are born in Taiwan. The overwhelming majority of Taiwanese today do not want anything to do with China. They say survey after survey that they favor the status quo, and the status quo is separate, independent from China. Very bold of you to assume big boogieman Western media has to tell me anything. Look in the mirror, who taught you about "reunifying" the Chinese people if not the CCP?

11

gamas Apr 15, 2026 +1

The CIA has literally been stripped down to people who support Trump. They are effectively a neutered force.

1

Necessary-Visit-2011 Apr 15, 2026 +1

But he won't because he has based so much of the future of the party on it for the past few years.

1

Slow_Savings4489 Apr 15, 2026 +1

PRC Embassy in Kiribati just released an OpEd about how they do not rule out force and that the world should view that as an internal issue, fwiw

1

Complex-Poet-6809 Apr 15, 2026 -6

If you think China could be the global leader of soft power, then you have no idea what’s been going on around Asia for decades. China isn’t even a leader of soft power **regionally**. Japan, Korea, and SE Asia hate them (as they do each other). Also, I’m seeing way too many Listnook users glaze China and mention both “China” and the word “soft power” recently which is making me think there are a bunch of bots. China has really done nothing soft power related on a grand scale.

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aarovski Apr 15, 2026 +14

Even if US hegemony completely ends, China won't "replace" them. It'll just be a multi polar order.

14

Free_Surprise_7939 Apr 15, 2026 +6

I mean at the world stage china has a lot of economical power in other countriea even if not inmediatwly this iz like saying the ua had no softpower because they are at odds with mexico and canada

6

Ivor97 Apr 15, 2026 +2

Iran requires payment in Chinese RMB for their Hormuz toll lmao

2

gamas Apr 15, 2026 +1

I'm no fan of China, but this is nonsense. China has the second/third (depends on if you count the EU as a collective bloc) highest GDP in the world. And its next to impossible to find a single mass market product that doesn't have at least one component that is made in China. That is the very definition of soft power. If you have control over entire supply chains, you have soft power.

1

Free_Surprise_7939 Apr 15, 2026 +1

China is already the leader of soft power at least economically they have very good tiea with moat develop african countriea and developing latin american countriea. Even europe has gone softeer on them USAs closing of Aid basicallu did that

1

antifocus Apr 15, 2026 +4

Naive and kinda wild take. The invasion is the last resort if Taiwan is about to go independent and all channels of communication have failed, but China will never abandon this card.

4

DeAndre_ROY_Ayton Apr 15, 2026 +12

Manpower? You barely need man power today with AI controlled drones, those things in 20-30 years be practically perfect if not sooner

12

Potential-Formal8699 Apr 15, 2026 +8

Taiwan’s TFR is 0.72 while China is sitting at about 1 with 58 times larger population. I don’t think you need to worry about Chinese manpower.

8

random20190826 Apr 15, 2026 +4

It appears that China dropped to 0.91 in 2025 because the number of babies born collapsed from 9.54 million to 7.92 million in a single year.

4

Potential-Formal8699 Apr 15, 2026 +12

Yeah, which is still 80 times bigger than Taiwan’s 100k newborns in 2025 so

12

ValeoAnt Apr 15, 2026 +6

This is the most insane take I've ever read

6

gamas Apr 15, 2026 +1

>I wonder what it would take for China to abandon any threats of violence. Realistically, through soft power moves like the OP headline. You normalise relations and promote China until a generation of Taiwanese people are like "why are we even opposed to the CCP in the first place?"

1

gamesrgreat Apr 15, 2026 +38

Press X to doubt. The last 80 yrs have created a strong national identity on the part of many Taiwanese and they kinda have an animus or look down on mainland Chinese ppl to some degree. It’s possible it China was democratic that unification could happen, but 90% is crazy

38

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +39

As a Taiwan resident, if China was democratic, and threats weren’t there, Taiwan would declare independence and gain recognition from the rest of the world. Taiwan is great on its own. It would be in such a strong position if none of these threats were there.

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bluntpencil2001 Apr 15, 2026 +9

I wouldn't be so sure about that, as democracies do prevent secession too. You can see that in the USA historically and, more recently, with Spain refusing Catalonia the right to an independence referendum. A liberal democratic China might go that route.

9

Fern-ando Apr 15, 2026 +15

Almost all countries on the planet don't allow independance referendums.

15

gamas Apr 15, 2026 +3

Odd exception is the UK where we once allowed a scottish referendum as a treat, but otherwise literally have a signed law that provides a legal route for Northern Ireland to call an independence referendum.

3

SeaworthinessSome454 Apr 15, 2026 +3

Right after the split, that probably would’ve been the case, but certainly not now. Several generations have grown up identifying as tawainese, not chinese. They’re not just going to give up their identity like that.

3

arcademissiles Apr 15, 2026 +2

Whats not to love? Of all people, a fellow Canadian must know how bs that sounds. Guess who is also next door, speaks the same language, and has THE highest GDP in the world? Are we suppose to unite with them too?

2

confused_and_desufno Apr 15, 2026 +1

"what’s not to love?" Is something only said by people not encountering chinese tour groups any more.

1

Plastic-Fox0293 Apr 15, 2026 +1

Mob rule has its ups and downs. it's not very smart tho.

1

daloo22 Apr 15, 2026 +1

Older generation would want some type of integration back with China. Younger generations want to be known as Taiwanese. All have roots from China. I have family on both sides

1

whoji Apr 15, 2026 +7

13% want reunification with *PRC*. Reunification with *China as a concept*, likely will be more popular.

7

Nessie_of_the_Loch Apr 15, 2026 +14

That 13% saw how Hong Kong played out and thought, "But that won't happen to us!"

14

aloudasian Apr 15, 2026 +36

Zero chance of any sort of peaceful reunification after how China treated HK. That washed away any semblance of trustworthiness the CCP had. It really is a tragedy how the west and the media just abandoned HK and hand waved away the CCP’s lies and violation of HK autonomy.

36

ApprehensivePay1735 Apr 15, 2026 +8

Counterpoint taiwan is seeing how reliable their security umbrella is and weighing their options. It wouldn't be desirable but probably preferable to their country being flattened and then incorporated into china at gunpoint.

8

aloudasian Apr 15, 2026 -4

The politicans may be spineless and fold but the public won't, especially when younger generation overwhelmingly identify as Taiwanese instead of Chinese. Taiwan is a democracy after all and the decision of the people is ultimately what matters. I think you'll find very few examples of societies folding under external pressure and many more examples of those choosing to fight.

-4

r2002 Apr 15, 2026 +1

You can't make chips from flattened fabs.

1

sovietarmyfan Apr 15, 2026 +4

Its funny that China claims unification is best because both countries have the same language and culture. Its exactly the reasons the nazis used when they wanted to incorporate Austria.

4

taisui Apr 15, 2026 +7

"Reunification" is the wrong framing, people have been living on the island for hundreds of years, the KMT refugee was the minority and only had control because they had weapons and enacted decades of dictatorship under CKS.

7

A_Typicalperson Apr 15, 2026 +4

Yea most of the people actual dont care about any of this, just want mo conflict

4

Plastic-Fox0293 Apr 15, 2026 +1

So it's like how America doesn't want the Iran war but you know ... Oopsies

1

KingAso88 Apr 15, 2026 +35

USAID money drying up around the world

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NinjaTabby Apr 15, 2026 +33

They’re trying to Hong Kong Taiwan

33

dmk_aus Apr 15, 2026 +45

I'd love for China to say "Whilst historically and Culturally "Taiwan" should be part of China, we think they will join eventually through friendship and there will never be a need to invade. We have learnt that the cost of war, even if victorious, is too high, from watching all the mistakes America makes around the world. We choose the path of friendship and will recognise Taiwan as an independent country, and hopefully future ally and friend. The door will always be open to reunification, but it is not worth the costs of Chinese lives and money. Education, healthcare and wealth for all remains our goal... etc." It would be such a tragedy if China got addicted to constant use of military actions into multiple countries every year like Russia/USSR/USA seem to have.

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Kreissv Apr 15, 2026 +97

I'd like to smoke what you're smoking.

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dmk_aus Apr 15, 2026 +8

I said love to see happen, not expect to see happen. The "inevitably" war to try and reincorporate Taiwan would cost millions of lives and waste trillions of dollar that could be spent saving and improving lives. And the risk of escalation towards more countries, more regions and even nuclear weapons is just too high. The world needs to try far harder for peace than the US and Israel did with Iran.

8

Kreissv Apr 15, 2026 +17

The reality of this world is that there are going to be people who are intolerant of you, and wish the death of you. It's nice to preach peace, but war is inevitable when there are cultures, societies, nationalities, ideologies etc that fundamentally disagree and are antithetical to your existence. How do you make peace with that? How should we have made peace with Hitler? Appeasement? How do we make peace with Stalin, how do we make peace in Ukraine? How do we make peace with China and all their border disputes when they fundamentally believe they are right and must reclaim land of other nations? The storming of the capitol in the US of echo-chambered conservatives with guns, how do you make peace with that? If you're willing to stand by the good you believe in, you must be willing to die defending it. Peace is nice, we should try our best to achieve it, but there are times when it has to step aside for force. Anyone pretending otherwise isn't ready to have a realistic conversation about global affairs.

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Raesong Apr 15, 2026 +2

> It's nice to preach peace, but war is inevitable when there are cultures, societies, nationalities, ideologies etc that fundamentally disagree and are antithetical to your existence. Si vis pacem, para bellum.

2

Kreissv Apr 15, 2026 +2

Yes, to be honest one only needs to look at Taiwan and China, that tension, that threat of war and death and violence is a huge reason why they haven't come to blows. You can only afford to speak softly when you carry a big stick.

2

dmk_aus Apr 15, 2026 -1

We aren't talking about wars to stop Hitler. The closest the world has to that right now is Putin invading Ukraine and the world offering indirect support only. The wars/conflicts with Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran etc aren't wars that had to happen to prevent an aggressor from conquering countries. They were/are political wars for the benefit of special interest groups. The dream is China has seen these, Russia's and other's disasters and has learnt from them that invading other countries is not worth it.

-1

Kreissv Apr 15, 2026 +4

>We aren't talking about wars to stop Hitler. The closest the world has to that right now is Putin invading Ukraine and the world offering indirect support only. How many more acts of terrorism do they need to commit before it's deemed fit to stop them? Do we need to wait for them to metaphorically take Poland and occupy Czech territory like in 1936 (Making a parallel to Hitler incase that wasn't clear). Openly funding terrorists groups, directly behind 911, openly support and funded October 7th, The massacre of thousands of protestors domestically . Every single one of Iran's neighbors has an issue with them due to their radical extremism. We've finger waggled them for decades, Kamala and BIden's pathetic "Don't." doesn't work if that "Don't" isn't followed up by a "Or else." >The wars/conflicts with Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran etc aren't wars that had to happen to prevent an aggressor from conquering countries. They were/are political wars for the benefit of special interest groups. Political wars to the benefit of special interest groups? Yes, sure. I don't disagree that some groups benefit, but can two things be true? Are we saying no one benefitted form any war ever outside of moral superiority? Wars happen for more reasons than just singular cartoon logic. >The dream is China has seen these, Russia's and other's disasters and has learnt from them that invading other countries is not worth it. You're right, that's the dream. Because it is a dream, for China to do that would be a fever dream of delirium. This is not how the world works. Borders exist, militaries exist, national interests and foreign policy exist, we're not holding hands and singing kumbaya in the hopes of world peace that just isn't reality and it just can't be. China's incredible rise to success is due to their absolute priority of social/ethnic unity, it is the one unwavering anchor of all policies there. You want everyone to just demilitarise and let's all get along? Sure. You first. Put your gun down, i pinky promise i won't shoot and take your stuff. Ukraine did it, look what happened. EDIT: Formatting

4

AuraofMana Apr 15, 2026 +13

Yea, as soon as the PRC says that, you’ll get riots on the street. If China is democratic, people would vote to unify Taiwan the next day. This isn’t some “the government is the only one interested” phenomenon. Yes, years of educating its citizens that China must be whole has done this, though this unification does happen quite a bit throughout Chinese history so it’s not unfounded; I’d argue it’s pretty ingrained in Chinese culture. So I don’t think this will ever happen. That’s the #1 way for the PRC to lose legitimacy.

13

antifocus Apr 15, 2026 +8

I mean not surprisingly Chinese don't think like Westerners and have no interest in virtue signaling. Taiwan is literally part of the first island chain with hundreds of US soldiers stationed. I also don't get the constant wet dream that China is about to invade Taiwan no matter what.

8

gamas Apr 15, 2026 +3

>I also don't get the constant wet dream that China is about to invade Taiwan no matter what. Yeah I think people massively overegg that. Invading Taiwan is an escalation to the same scale as Russia invading Ukraine and US against Iran. A direct naval invasion would likely end badly for the simple reason that naval invasions are hard enough as it is without the factor of modern warfare with drones we have seen in Ukraine and Iran at play. Simply firing missiles at the island would be counterproductive as it would be destroying infrastructure China would want to keep and a blockade siege would turn China into a global pariah (because that would be disrupting the semiconductor industry). China cannot afford to be a global pariah as its current position is thanks to most of the world wanting to do business with them. They're not the US in being stupid enough to think they could just do things without long term consequences. Realistically, I think China prefers the status quo where they play passively whilst looking threatening enough to keep pressure on Taiwan. They gain more from hanging a Damocles sword over Taiwan than from outright invading.

3

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +12

Or they could just say: “We respect the will of the Taiwanese people to decide for themselves.” As a permanent resident of Taiwan, I like that option best.

12

dmk_aus Apr 15, 2026 +13

And people are mocking my comments for being unrealistic.

13

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +6

It may be unrealistic, but I thought it would be good to mention that actually it’s the people of Taiwan who should be able to decide their future. Taiwan’s a great place and I feel very fortunate to have lived here for the past decade. It’s very frustrating to hear people talk about Taiwan as if it’s merely a pawn in a global politics game.

6

tempest51 Apr 15, 2026 +6

> It’s very frustrating to hear people talk about Taiwan as if it’s merely a pawn in a global politics game I hope you've noticed by now that's exactly what we are to them.

6

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +2

Yeah … ten years here and it’s clear that China and the USA have very little interest in Taiwan’s citizens. To be fair, the EU has done a better job!

2

tempest51 Apr 15, 2026 +6

I can assure you when the time comes they won't lift a finger to help us, too busy having meetings about it, presumably.

6

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +1

Sadly true!

1

AuraofMana Apr 15, 2026 -1

The US can’t even take care of its own citizens. In what world did you think they would care about people in Taiwan? You’re literally a pawn in the US’ game. China is arguable, because the PRC at least put up the facade to make things better for its own people to stay in power. Look at how many special privileges provinces at the border get to keep people happy and associate themselves with the wider Chinese identity. I think if Taiwan just says f*** it let’s be part of the PRC tomorrow and don’t riot and ask for stuff the PRC does not allow for (see HK), the PRC will probably try pretty hard to treat the Taiwanese pretty well. I’m not saying that’s a good tradeoff or you should do that, mind you, but I don’t think you can compare US with CN when it comes to caring about the actual people in Taiwan.

-1

CanInTW Apr 15, 2026 +3

I think I said exactly that - that neither the US or China care about Taiwanese citizens. If you think Xi Jingping would just allow Taiwan get in with things are they are today, I have a bridge in London to sell you. 🤣

3

TurbulentIssue6 Apr 15, 2026 +2

I dont really understand what people in taiwan think is gonna happen in 10 years when theyre no longer the sole provider of chips to the world considering that american probably wouldnt even help them *today* much less when American doesnt have a direct massive incentive

2

wKoS256N8It2 Apr 15, 2026 +1

It _is_ unrealistic. We hope it's not, though. But it's an empty dream.

1

TurbulentIssue6 Apr 15, 2026 +1

I think this will probably happen once China gets chip factories set up that are more or less on par with taiwan

1

SandwichPunk Apr 15, 2026 +1

As someone who lived in China before, that's not gonna happen. The government have brainwashed the people there to think conquering Taiwan is their destiny.

1

OkGuide2802 Apr 15, 2026 +2

China and Taiwan will likely join at some point in the future. Probably not 10 or 20 years into the future, but 100+ is very plausible. China sees things through a much longer time frame, so something like reunification would make sense as part of a long term goal. The two countries just share so much in terms of culture and geography and other interests.

2

AVeryBadMon Apr 15, 2026 +9

The CCP plant goes to meet the boss

9

TheNinjaDC Apr 15, 2026 +19

Peaceful reunification went out the door with the botched effort with Hong Kong. The CCP needed to, at least, maintain the illusion of maintaining liberties reunifying regions. To giving them special treatment from the rest of China like freedom of press and religion. But they failed spectacularly. It’s like Ukraine unifying with Russia went out the door when Russia invaded, again. Bridges were not burned, they were blown up.

19

longestboie Apr 15, 2026 +8

This isn't great tbh

8

taisui Apr 14, 2026 +18

Only if Taiwan accepts One China Principle which says both sides are the same country and PRC is the only legal government

18

itsFelbourne Apr 14, 2026 +34

The opposition has no mandate or authority to make deals with China on behalf of Taiwan. KMT has zero actual support for the future that Beijing wants. The strongest “pro-China” position they can platform without being slaughtered in elections is; “We should only buy a ton of US weapons, instead of a f*** ton” One China is a platitude that only still exists out of convenience. Every country that has diplomatic relations with Taiwan has de facto rejected it

34

Chromatinfish Apr 15, 2026 +9

AFAIK the KMT's political calculus is to be a party of 'normalcy' in the short-term. They are not looking at reunification with the PRC in the near future, but to basically repute the DPP's increasingly siding with the U.S.'s position with what they believe is at the cost of the quality of life of Taiwan's people. The KMT's platform is basically that Taiwan entrenching itself too much in one side of the global order (aka supporting Israel, Ukraine, whatever else the US supports) and is being too inflexible in its chase of the ideal. The pragmatic thing to do is to deal with China's government in addition to the US and the West and take whichever deals are better for Taiwan, is what the KMT is arguing. The vast majority of people in Taiwan may not want unification, but they also aren't willing to provoke military conflicts and support global interventionism if it degrades their own quality of life. Hence, the majority of people supporting the status quo, which is de facto independence but de jure following the One China policy, and not stubbornly standing against good business deals under the guise of idealism.

9

Samuraispirits Apr 15, 2026 +24

[Except they have more seats in their legislature than the ruling party at the moment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislative_Yuan)? Again this doesn’t preclude anything at the moment but a lowering of tensions isn’t a bad thing.

24

taisui Apr 14, 2026 +2

I'm just pointing out China's offer is pretty much just empty words.

2

itsFelbourne Apr 14, 2026 +5

Everything China says to or about Taiwan is empty words, except the threats of imperialist conquest

5

taisui Apr 15, 2026 +1

We know, but AP is reporting it as fact.

1

Muted_Pen9627 Apr 15, 2026 +8

butatwhatcost.jpg

8

Sea-Cheesecake301 Apr 15, 2026 +9

Totally not China trying to undermine the Taiwanese government.

9

CantFeelMyToesAgain Apr 15, 2026 +10

This is Taiwans pro China party fyi

10

confused_and_desufno Apr 15, 2026 +1

Does that mean more flights or is china happy flying to north korea instead?

1

r0bb3dzombie Apr 15, 2026 +1

I just cannot see anything else than a grown up Butthead whenever I see a picture of Xi. Hehehehehehe.

1

SandwichPunk Apr 15, 2026 +1

Maybe stop threatening to invade Taiwan and stop sending fighter jets violating their air space?

1

ImaginaryArtist1148 Apr 15, 2026 +1

Did anyone tell Xi that his ties are not wanted in Taiwan?

1

Goosepond01 Apr 14, 2026 -6

Never trust authoritarian dictators, especially ones who have been threatening you constantly. if this actually does turn out to be some normalisation then good, but I fear China just wants to increase influence more and more for an eventual takeover, either politically, economically or militarily.

-6

catscanmeow Apr 14, 2026 +3

them owning nvidia would be quite the pickle.

3

Goosepond01 Apr 15, 2026 +5

I'm more concerned about a democratic nation being taken over by an authoritarian one, but yes if they could get their hands on the chip fabs it would be concerning

5

isekai_cheese Apr 15, 2026 -7

"resume ties" = china has no choice but to carry on and not fk with their functional independence.

-7

China says it will resume some ties with Taiwan after visit by opposition leader

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