I love how westerners consider political capture of a rogue province of Taiwan by US cool and normal. Just imagine how much foaming at the mouth there would be if Russia started backing a separatist government in Texas. I mean libs are still losing their shit over the made up Russiagate conspiracy, so I guess we don't have to imagine.

I always find it silly how Westerners have no grasp of reunification in a non-military manner.

In the same way say, France and Germany might have a unified economy or Canada and the US might have a unified culture, it's entirely possible to maintain legislative and/or budgetary independence under a unified front. In fact, that's already more-or-less true of China's governments: the proportion of government spending at the federal level is only 15% of all government spending. This includes spending for defence, science & technology, public security, public services, education, and diplomacy.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

In November, a Taiwan court heard accusations that two serving soldiers had accepted bribes from Chinese agents to record a video declaring their loyalty to China and their intention to defect in the event of a war.

The colonel was found guilty of having accepted monthly payments totalling more than half a million Taiwan dollars (£12,500) to delay his retirement for years and serve as a spy.

The ruling Chinese Communist party (CCP) claims Taiwan is a province of China, and its leader, Xi Jinping, appears to have made “reunification” a crucial component of his future legacy.

Beneath all that is an apparently extensive and well-resourced network of spies and agents of influence seeking to steal secrets, gather intelligence, sow discord and undermine Taiwan’s democracy from within.

He told the Guardian morale was being affected by relentless cognitive warfare from China, and “outdated” leadership in the ROC military, which is historically rooted in the Kuomintang party (KMT).

“A military that has lost its spiritual beliefs and honour will not have the concept of loyalty to the country and the people, and will naturally not be able to withstand the temptation of high pay across the strait,” Chen tells the Guardian.

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