u/Aggressive-Cod-6312

This week, the President of the United States is visiting China as part of the Beijing Summit. This has got me thinking about America’s foreign policy posture with regard to China going forward.

It is no secret that President Xi Jinping has made reunification with the island province of Taiwan a top priority, largely inheriting the same position from his predecessors. On the flip side, America views Taiwan as a critical strategic ally and partner in the Asia-Pacific region. Although China openly supported the idea of a peaceful reunification, many speculate on China’s intentions to achieve if’s aims through force.

For many decades, the US has held a position of “strategic ambiguity”. This has been an important feature of US-China relations at least since the Nixon administration as it allows the United States to deter potential aggression from China while simultaneously maintaining amicable relations with it.

Having said all that, I bring this back full-circle to the Beijing Summit. President Trump is arriving in Beijing with a relatively poor hand given the US’s ongoing blunders in Iran. I think there is a very real and growing possibility that China is observing our military failure in Iran as a sign of weakness, and thusly a potential opportunity to finally resolve the Taiwan issue in the near future.

So my question is the following:

What should the United States response be in the event of a full-on invasion of Taiwan by China? Do you favor a military response, only economic sanctions, or no response at all? Why?

Thank you for your time and thoughtful response on this question.

Some hobbies I have include health/fitness, gaming, history, current events, music, professional football, cooking, and more.

Just a chill gay guy from Michigan on a slow Saturday. Open to chat with anyone.

Many people reading this, including myself, are exhausted with the state of the world right now. Turn on the news you’ll probably see corrupt politicians, greedy billionaires, shameless media personalities, each trying to sell you their own particular flavor of bullsh*t. Now It feels like evil is rewarded. The people who lie, manipulate, and exploit seem to rise to the top, and they do it so openly it’s as if they know nothing will stop them. What’s worse is how often you hear them parading around and talking about “God” while living in ways that seem completely detached from anything resembling humility, service, or truth.

I used to be an atheist. I believed that human reason and the innate goodness of people would be enough to guide us. Looking around now, I don’t think that’s enough on its own. Without a deeper framework, we can easily drift into a kind of nihilism, the idea that nothing ultimately matters, so people are free to act however they want. And when that mindset takes hold, it shouldn’t surprise us that selfishness, exploitation, and moral indifference have started to dominate. When nothing has value, everything becomes negotiable. You now hear people, the media, rationalizing and debating the dropping of bombs on elementary schools.

It’s in these times, I found myself drawn to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Recognizing the inherent and equal value of every human being, serving and defending the weak, and love for fellow man as an end unto itself. I’ve come to believe that there is a divine order to this world and that we are called upon to serve it. I believe we as Christians are divinely obliged to be a light in these dark times.

Having said all of this, if you’re reading this and also
feel discouraged or pessimistic about everything going on, you’re definitely not alone.

Our burden in this life is to hold on to what’s true and good even when everything around us pushes us to do the opposite. To choose integrity, grace, beauty, compassion, etc. To me, that is the essence of Christianity.