To: Pogeu Mahone who wrote (203462 ) 12/30/2023 5:37:46 PM From: TobagoJack Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 217771 Re <<Air bases along China’s southeastern coast facing Taiwan have undergone significant infrastructure upgrades in recent years. Analysts say these changes are a sign of Beijing’s preparations for a conflict over Taiwan ... Taiwan that sits uneasily with Communist Party leaders 1,000 miles to the northwest in Beijing. >> (1) China, the People's Republic, is just doing what China ought to do, continue growing in strength. (2) China, the Republic, is just doing what it ought to do, continue growing in strength, but 100+ km off shore from China, the People's Republic. Most on Taiwan island prefer continuation of 'is' because 'is' enables generation and harvest of much money. Reunification might be satisfying for some and anguishing for others, but assuredly bad for business for most. I fall into the camp of 'most'. But, yes, reunification shall happen, of that I have no doubt, for it is just a matter of 'is'. Therefore we watch. In the mean time we watch Team Russia and Ukraine go at each other to discern direction of the wind. Should Russia be successful to achieve its stated military / political goals (de-nazi-fication, de-militarization, neutralisation, and reform European security architecture), depending on the degree to which the goals are achieved, China situation resolves one way vs another as path of least resistance. Should Russia fail, another story for China might be. To sum, as far as USA is concerned, Russia must lose or Ukraine must-not-lose. As far as China is concerned, Russia must-not-lose. At the moment Russia is not losing because Team USA doing a rug-pull on Team Ukraine, especially as Team USA must double down w/ Team Israel. All very complicated, and many moving pieces. We watch.