Qing dynasty had plenty of soft power that attracted Europeans to Chinese shores for trade and for Chinese art and tea and yet it didn’t amount to shit when hard power was needed to protect the realm for Anglo predation
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- Thread starter bd popeye
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The Song Dynasty was also the economic, cultural, and educational superpower of their time. Unfortunately, soft power only makes them look like pretty girls standing before the barbarians of the north.
Those keyboard warriors are as real as the those 300k soldiers of the previous afghan government.
Taiwanese separatists know that if the US plunders their semiconductor manufacturing sector, it'll have no real incentive to come to Taiwan's "defense". No monopoly on advanced semiconductor manufacturing, no leverage. They'll try to put up a fight here and slow-walk the Arizona plant there, but they'll fold in the end. Daddy will unbuckle the belt and whip them into behaving just like their "older brother" got in the '80s.
Ironically, I wholeheartedly support this. A Taiwan that's lost its semiconductor monopoly is a Taiwan shorn of all strategic importance.
Not really. Did their soft power help it solve a single problem of national importance so far?
Did it help them win Afghanistan?
Perhaps it helped in the 2008 financial crisis?
Maybe it's helping them do something beyond rhetoric... Anything... To China?
No? Why not?
solarz
Brigadier
Disagree. Taiwan's strategic importance lies in its geographic location.
Yes, but that's to China. Its strategic importance to the US from that perspective is purely to deny that advantage to China, and I very sincerely doubt that the US would go to war to deny open access to the Pacific to Chinese submarines - especially if it stands to lose a large portion of its navy in the process.
I'm more willing to buy that the US would go to war to secure its supply of advanced chips, without which its economy and society would implode.
solarz
Brigadier
Actually, it's the other way around. Taiwan is a strategic threat to China. If hypothetically the island did not exist, China would actually be better off.
The US interest in Taiwan is purely as a strategic asset to hinder China's access to the Pacific.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
And they're complaining about Beijing blocking Chinese airlines from buying Boeing...? Their decision to ban Chinese products is purely political not for national security reasons if their own security branches of their government are buying them. When General Milley said he would talk to the Chinese to let them know he would prevent Donald Trump from attacking China, Joe Scarborough on his tv show spun it to say it was a warning China not to take advantage of the US during a chaotic transition of power and not that he would help stop a madmen US president from starting WWIII just to get votes. Spin just like how when this story came out that US government agencies were buying Chinese drones they were saying were national security dangers they spun that as US were buying them to breakdown and counter Chinese spying techniques. No they're buying them because they're better than anything else competitors have to offer for their purpose meaning it was a political decision. Maybe they'll demand China hand over their drone secrets like they want Taiwan and South Korea to do with chipmaking secrets.