Compromise needed to avert Taiwan crisis

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=286713

There was never any doubt about the outcome of Taiwan's bid to regain a seat in the United Nations.

For the 15th time in as many years, the U.N. rejected Taipei's call to return to the world body. The application did not even make it to the General Assembly agenda, having been blocked by the General Assembly's General Committee amid adamant opposition from China.

Beijing insists that the island is a part of the 'one China' and Taipei's efforts to claim a seat at the U.N. are part of a campaign to promote independence. That may be true, at least as far as Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian and his backers are concerned, but the sentiments behind the U.N. bid do reflect the Taiwan people's deep-seated yearning for respect and the assertion of their identity as Taiwanese. To confuse those aspirations with partisan politics will compound tensions.

Taiwan left the U.N. in 1971, when the People's Republic of China was awarded the 'China' seat. As both Beijing and Taipei each insisted that it was the rightful government of a single China, Taiwan withdrew from the world body rather than try to claim a separate seat of its own. While Beijing sticks to the one-China principle — and demands that it be honored by all countries with which it has diplomatic relations — Taiwan's politics have evolved. Today, a growing number of Taiwanese think of themselves as fundamentally different from Chinese and demand recognition of that fact.

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This speaks to me
While it is tempting to see this as a tempest in a political teacup, the stakes are huge. China has repeatedly warned that it will use force if Taiwan declares independence — and more worryingly, if Taipei takes other less well-defined steps that Beijing considers a move toward independence. Some Taiwanese either dismiss this as bluster or cite it as proof that China is a dangerous, demanding country. It is evidence nonetheless of the potential for instability and conflict in the Taiwan Strait. That is why some of Taiwan's closest friends and allies denounced Mr. Chen's actions as provocative. Mr. Thomas Christensen, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, minced no words, cautioning that 'it is not just Taiwan's peace and stability that Taipei's actions may threaten.'

I feel like if US goes after Iran
China is going after taiwan

I don't think we could stop them

and, Taiwan is a lot tougher than Iraq, and there is next-door neighbor to mass troops for invasion, either.