CIA Director Says China “Weighing Carefully” Its Desire For Taiwan Following Russo-Ukraine War
Albert Turkington
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The People’s Republic of West Taiwan has always considered the Republic of China as part of the same polity and under the same yoke of Bejing. Indeed, from the invasion of Tibet in 1953 to the systematic disenfranchisement of the Uighurs in Xinjiang/ East Turkestan to the recent incursions on Hong Kong’s autonomy, it would seem that the politburo of West Taiwan is very keen on territorial expansion, whether it be for the acquisition of natural resources or simply to have more buffer zones surrounding the Han heartland under its direct sway. Regardless, the next territory on West Taiwan’s wishlist is almost certainly the Republic of China.
According to The Epoch Times, CIA Director William Burns believes that West Taiwan is “weighing carefully” the back and forth that is taking place between Russia and Ukraine in order to better tailor their ambitions for the Republic of China. In an interview published by the Financial Times that the West Taiwanese leadership might have been unpleasantly surprised by how the Ukrainians seem to have gelled together to form a unified resistance against the Russians, something which has delayed the timelines of those who continue to predict Ukraine’s eventual annexation.
Burns believes that the struggle between Russia and Ukraine for Russian-speaking territories is being closely observed by the West Taiwanese in order to more accurately calculate the true cost of a hypothetical annexation of the Republic of China, a territory that Bejing officially considers its sovereign territory. In fact, the Defense Ministry of the Republic of China reports having detected 18 Chinese aircraft, including 12 J-11 and J-16 fighter aircraft, and two H-6 bombers intruding into its airspace, the second-largest intrusion on record.
Burns believes that West Taiwanese leader and Winnie-the-Pooh lookalike Xi Jin Ping is concerned about how costly such a hypothetical annexation would be, not just in terms of lives lost but also in terms of economic disruption. Apparently, Xi has not forgotten that the majority of the entire globe’s higher-level chips are produced in the Republic of China, a feat not very easily replicated in a pinch.
Another consideration the West Taiwanese must also consider is the geographical differences between the Northern European Plain and the Straits of Taiwan. While the former is a flat land border that can be easily crossed, the border between the two successors of the Qing Empire involves a decent sea voyage as well as the Republic of China’s very mountainous main island. On top of this, the Republic of China has been preparing for such a conflict for the better part of eight decades as opposed to the eight years the Ukrainians have, in addition to its far higher level of wealth and economic sophistication vis-a-vis Ukraine.
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