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" China's lust for Taiwan has nothing to do with pride and everything to do with strategic control of the Western Pacific Ocean."

Do you have any evidence of that? Polls, writings, editorials, intelligence, expert opinions etc…

Exactly.

But perhaps more . . . telling or something . . .

Pride is such an inherent cultural aspect it almost seems genetic.

Two low level laborers can be both riding their aged bikes in the evening rush hour--both bikes so covered in rust and scratches one can't see anything but rust and scratches. And bike A will slightly scrape bike B. Immediately the riders are at each other's throats literally over pride. They probably couldn't find the alledged new scratch but still they take up clubs and go at it in front of the gathering throng.

When I spoke to a sizeable group of leaders, they asked what I felt, as a resident observer, China's main problems were. When I mentioned pride--they murmmered agreeingly and knowingly. They had no solution.

I could say more but though they probably already know who I am, I'd not like to prove it to them.

If you look, you will find them. You might consider that General McArthur, one of America's greatest military minds regarded Taiwan as key to the Western Pacific and called it an "unsinkable aircraft carrier." Indeed, it is the key to the Western Pacific. It controls all the important shipping lanes to Japan and Korea from the Middle East and many of the shipping lanes to the Phillipines.

McArthur's comment is true today. For example, Japan went to war with the US over oil in WWII. It is more dependent on Middle Eastern oil today than it was in the 40's.

So the probable result of Chinese occupation of Taiwan is neutralization of Japan, Korea and the Phillipines. With that one stroke, China will have eliminated all locations from which western air assets may be conveniently deployed against much of China.

Sure, the public in China has been whipped up into nationalist pride and I do not discount the importance of pride in sustaining popular support for a policy. But the leadership would not be investing the billions it has put into arming to invade Taiwan (nor would it spend countless dollars whipping up that pride) unless Taiwan were so strategically important.