[Dr. Marten]

All joking/sarcasm aside, I would highly recommend "The making of Chinese foreign and Security Policy" edited by David M. Lampton.

It was assigned during my Chinese foreign policy class and it gives a good perspective of where the Chinese are coming from and where they are going.

March will be interesting with regards to the Taiwanese referendum that is scheduled to take place. I will be visiting my wife and doing research in China during this time. Hopefully nothing too exciting takes place.

[Quix]

Thanks for the ref.

PLEASE, PLEASE KEEP US POSTED.

Where, may I ask (for public or private answer), are you planning to travel in China?

Safety to you and your party in all such travels.

[tallhappy]

foreign and Security Policy" edited by David M. Lampton. It was assigned during my Chinese foreign policy class

You are definitely at a major disadvantage having taken classes on this subject. It is amazing you have such a clear view on this topic given this background. How could you have come out of that milieu not being completely Foggy headed? Bottom line:

Deng died seven years ago. CCK 16 years ago. Taiwan has invested billions and created millions of jobs in China.

No attack. Attack means ChiComs lose and lose power. It would be the end of their rule and regime and they know it.

The "immortals" are all dead. No one else has the authority or power to start this sort of attack. There will be a bigger civil war in China if they begin such a war.

They hate Chen and Lee because they have a long term vision and are moving step by step to free themselves of this silly and stupid situation in a way that has to be recognized and accepted by the free world. This is they are desperately looking for Bush to help. They know they can only use the US to take Taiwan. Clinton helped them and now Bush is helping them even more when the time now is to move in the exact opposite manner which is what Bush had done for a time.

What I see about lampton and his ilk is they are uncreativer narrow minded not too breight folk are always one or two steps behind.

And they caused the problem in the first place and have no idea how to end it and simply seek to always prolong it as they know nothing better.

Taiwan is planning to achieve or make clear their full sovereignty and independence before the 2008 Olympics. We can either help them or help the ChiComs. Those are the choices.

We can wait wait wait until then maybe China will have weapons from Europse to use (heck, by then maybe we'll be selling them weapons).

Or do it now in the next few years to deal with it and make it right.

Or say outright we want the PRC to take over Taiwan.

No more nonsense and stupid games. China is now essentially a colony of the US, Japan and Taiwan and others and we used their cheap labor force to manufacture all our goods.

The ChiCom regime is not needed in any way.

Anyhow, great to see you are being deprogrammed from your unfportunate indoctrination in to the foggy foggy world of foreign policy experts.