China's mental gymnastics over Taiwan are just that, gymnastics. Its an attempt to weasel out of international law and convention through word games. If they invade it will be seen as an act of aggression and one nation invading another. Nobody except deluded tankies thinks Taiwan is actually part of the PRC and isn't its own sovereign nation.
As for Ukraine, while Russia does formally recognize them as a nation, they do not recognize the current government as legitimate. And that is a big part of their supposed excuse for invading. I find that very similar to China's stance. Taiwan's government is in their eyes not valid and regardless what they say about one china BS, they know that the rest of the world wont see it that way. So in reality they are forced to support Russia's moves to save face.
>If they invade it will be seen as an act of aggression and one nation invading another.
Sure but that doesn't mean they are the same. Ukraine is a country that is recognised by both Russia and a UN member state recognised by most of the world. Taiwan is not recognised by China and only 13 UN member states.
About a billion of these "deluded tankies" live in China.
> Russia does formally recognize them as a nation
Formal recognitions aside, but if you go anywhere from the Russian extreme left (e.g. Gorbachev) to the Russian extreme right (e.g. Solzhenitsyn), there's one thing they agree upon: they all think Ukraine is historically tied to Russia. Like it or not, there is a wide consensus in Russia with regards to that.
It has served Russian policy since the 90's to have Ukraine and Belarus as independent states, since 3 votes in the UN are better than one.
>About a billion of these "deluded tankies" live in China.
Yup. Although generally I reserve the term for those that come online to spout the propaganda. I suppose most are doing that within the sinosphere part of the internet.
>Formal recognitions aside, but if you go anywhere from the Russian extreme left (e.g. Gorbachev) to the Russian extreme right (e.g. Solzhenitsyn), there's one thing they agree upon: they all think Ukraine is historically tied to Russia. Like it or not, there is a wide consensus in Russia with regards to that.
>It has served Russian policy since the 90's to have Ukraine and Belarus as independent states, since 3 votes in the UN are better than one.
100% agree. I think the real reason Russia is doing this is because they see Ukraine as part of their sphere of influence and Ukrainians taking another path is unacceptable. For Russian leadership, its a case of exerting leverage and control on the states that have been "traditionally" under their thumb, this dates back through the communist era to Imperial Russia and even before in some cases. Its a very old and deep rooted notion.
For the average Russian I wouldn't be surprised if state media have convinced them of the average Ukrainian supporting Russia's invasion, as their outside propaganda claims.
I actually see a lot of parallels between this and how the US has handled stuff in its own backyard. There is a history of the US supporting tin pot dictators simply because the dictator was willing to play ball and the people of the nation overthrowing them. And then there's the banana wars.
I'd like to think we've grown out of that. But that's probably not the case. There is definitely still some intervention in central and south America mostly as part of the war on drugs, but that's not to the same degree as in the past .
Of course the situation is nuanced. But we're here to discuss territorial wars of aggression. Not to write a book on ages old cultural interactions. Taiwan and China are both separate sovereign states defacto. They have functioning governments and standing militaries. Any meaningful discussion about the issue has to start from there. Pretending the RoC military doesn't exist just because a bunch of people on the mainland feels like it doesn't actually change reality.
If the PRC wants to change that reality then that means military action at this stage. One China quickly looks like woo woo bullshit when Chengdus start falling out of the sky and Taipei 101 gets hit with a cruise missile.
As for Ukraine, while Russia does formally recognize them as a nation, they do not recognize the current government as legitimate. And that is a big part of their supposed excuse for invading. I find that very similar to China's stance. Taiwan's government is in their eyes not valid and regardless what they say about one china BS, they know that the rest of the world wont see it that way. So in reality they are forced to support Russia's moves to save face.
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