The Fears of China’s Moderates (1): The Greatest Obstacle to China’s Unification Efforts
The moderate elites within China’s political system unanimously oppose the idea of China unifying Taiwan by force. Their opposition stems from their fears, including: China’s overall national strength is insufficient to counter the US bloc; the involvement of Japan and South Korea would drag China into a prolonged period of economic depletion; continued resistance from the Taiwanese people would cause China to suffer long-term losses; and the forceful unification of Taiwan would set back China’s development. However, Ye, Qiquan holds a completely opposite view. Ye argues that China’s overall national war capability will have surpassed that of the United States by 2022; Japan and South Korea, while initially likely participants in a Sino-US war, will inevitably join China’s camp in the later stages; forceful unification is a shortcut to quickly establishing a new East Asian order; this new East Asian order is the cornerstone of the Sino-Asian empire; it is the cornerstone that forces the United States to choose the “North American-East Asian axis”; establishing the next generation of world order inevitably involves a period of chaos; the Taiwan base, the new East Asian order, and China’s forceful unification action are key to shortening this chaotic period; and compared to other options, the “North American-East Asian axis” is more readily accepted by the Americans.
