I'll confess that I don't understand Taiwan's importance to China. They can put a certain amount of their resources into taking Taiwan -- which will absolutely not gain them access to TSMC's production capacity under any conditions, due to a web of Western dependencies that runs deeper than any rabbit hole -- or they can put the same resources into improving their own economic strength. Why wouldn't they choose the latter?
The reason I say I don't understand any of this is that the same reasoning should have applied to Russia. If they had spent a fraction of the effort and energy they've historically devoted to harming other countries on improving their own country instead, they would be way ahead of the game... yet they didn't, and don't show any indication of changing course.
Is the same irrational thinking present among China's leadership? If so -- and their pathological obsession with Taiwan certainly suggests that it is -- then things are really going to suck for everyone involved.
The reason I say I don't understand any of this is that the same reasoning should have applied to Russia. If they had spent a fraction of the effort and energy they've historically devoted to harming other countries on improving their own country instead, they would be way ahead of the game... yet they didn't, and don't show any indication of changing course.
Is the same irrational thinking present among China's leadership? If so -- and their pathological obsession with Taiwan certainly suggests that it is -- then things are really going to suck for everyone involved.