- China’s finance ministry on Friday said it will impose a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the U.S. starting on April 10.
- The ministry criticized Washington’s decision to impose 34% of additional reciprocal levies on China — bringing total U.S. tariffs against the country to 54% — as “inconsistent with international trade rules.”
- U.S. stock futures and European markets fell sharply on news of the reciprocal tariffs.
Wait, when did I say I’m Chinese?
you said you’re Taiwanese above, do you consider yourself Taiwanese and not Chinese?
That’s correct. Like I said, westerners have no understanding of what the Taiwanese people want or think. And instead of understanding, they make grand statements about what we want without our input. Again, if you look at the voting, we voted heavily in favor of status quo, which is what I want. If you look at polls, Taiwanese people consider themselves Taiwanese. It’s confusing to people like you because you want it to be black and white, we are fine with shades of gray. Mostly though, I want people to stop talking for us.
that’s legit, as an anarchist i want peoples to be able to speak for themselves. I’m not finding referendums about independence, though, just polling from the NSC / ECCU that suggests a split between maintaining status quo and gradually moving towards independence
I mean if you ask Taiwanese people in the very long run would it be nice if Taiwan is independent I would argue probably 70% would agree with that. But we’re fine with that not happening for hundreds of years if so be it. We’re mostly fine with the situation the way it is right now. Which is exactly why I dislike people bringing up Taiwan whenever they talk about China. First it’s always about war, second it’s always about us wanting an independence we’re not actually thinking about within our lifetimes. Taiwan only becomes a hot zone IF the US makes it a hot zone. China has stated they have no plans to take Taiwan by force unless necessary and will prepare a strong enough military by 2027 to fight the US. The US has taken that to mean China will invade in 2027. What China is really saying is we’re going to be so strong that Taiwan would want to return. I don’t think that’s true. Most Taiwanese people do not want to return. However, if USA keeps doing what it’s doing, Taiwan may U-turn. There’s a lot of unhappiness right now about America. BUT that’s also why we like the status quo. We see the winds changing. We want the best opportunities for ourselves regardless of who leads the world.
How do you feel about the military exercises China takes near Taiwan?
I’d also like to hear your perspective on US involvement in the region, such as military bases and weapons aid.
It’s important to understand who the military exercises are aimed at. It’s aimed at USA, every Taiwanese person knows this. Which is why we literally have people come out and take pictures of the weapons going off instead of hiding or fearing anything. It’s fine, everyone seems to like firing off their weapons near our island at this point. It’s not like USA, Australia, Japan, Russia, North Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, England, France, India I could go on, but they’re all firing weapons. This is actually why China keeps increasing the size of the exercises. They’re trying to show no matter how many people are there, they’ll have the force to handle it (they don’t, that’s what 2027 is about). Actually MORE IMPORTANTLY China doesn’t have the soldiers to actually fight the war. If you ever wondered how China’s military budget is so tiny compared to USA’s and yet has so much equipment, it’s because they don’t actually train their soldiers. It’s also how we know China is using the equipment for fear factor and not an actual invasion. They would need to massively expand their military size and training. China seems big with 2 million active soldiers, but almost all of those soldiers are trained for humanitarian aid. AND it’s not even enough to take on USA alone if USA activates their reserves let alone their allies (which is probably going away now). Plus, it’s almost all army grunts who are tasked with cleaning up city streets like they did in HK during the riots. They’re desperately short on pilots. So China doesn’t have a real fighting force, and the force they do have is incredibly corrupt, which is what all the firings of the heads of departments is about. China knows this, they also know the only thing they can really do is saber rattle, because all their soldiers are spoiled brats who couldn’t go to a good school.
As to your second question I have no real answer. If you go all the way back to my original post this is what I was talking about. IF China is sole hegemony, China has a strong policy of never sending their soldiers to do anything anywhere ever, unless Taiwan declares independence. Note, the whole Philippines thing isn’t against Chinese military but their coast guards. They’re trained to use water cannons not weapons.
So what happens? Well this is the scary part, if USA actually retreats, there’s nothing holding the nations together who are upset at their governments. We’re going to see massive genocides across the world.
On the other hand, to your ideal, who is USA to tell other nations to obey in the first place? All I know is that if China wins completely, the world will be more chaotic, at least for a while.
*Edit: Fun fact. In case you’re wondering why I’m so fluent in English it’s because I went to High School and College in the US, like most of my friends and family. I find it horrifyingly disappointing that the US is doing what it’s doing since I used to very much consider it a second home. But alas, the world is never really what we want is it?
Thanks for sharing your perspective. I’m not sure which media sources are credible on the situation so I haven’t looked into it much.
It’s hard to predict how the US will respond globally as this empire free falls. Usually empires lash out violently as they wane, and with military bases around the world and an incompetent fascist in charge, I fear the US will too. Those military bases could quickly become considered an occupation by the many home countries if relations sour.
Multi-polar organizations like BRICS and regional multi-national organizations give me hope that China would not be a dominant force like the US is and European empires were. But only time will tell.
I do believe internationalism will be critical for global solidarity and a multi-polar world. If global capitalism is truly coming to a violent end in the near future, I can only hope that a socialist mode of production and mutualism will gain prominence in it’s place.
Whatever happens, I wish you and the Taiwanese people peace, whichever way they choose to go with, if the status quo becomes no longer an option
I mean China has stated over and over and responded over and over in a way that states China would not willingly become a dominant force. China’s whole thing is they only care about their country and their people and what ever happens in the world it’s not their business.
But here’s some historical examples for what I’m talking about.
Ukraine Russian war. Yes, China sells drone parts and machinery to Russia. That’s constantly talked about as if this is absolute proof that China is supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, Ukraine is just as dependent on these parts and machinery as Russia is. So by that logic, China is supporting Ukraine in the war.
Myanmar. Is currently in a massive civil war. Myanmar is completely under China’s sphere of influence to the point where no external actor is willing to interfere. Yet China is willing to just let the people do whatever they feel is right. Even though it’s literally causing a genocide in the nation.
Sudan. Basically the same as Myanmar. Though an interesting side story to this is Sudan had Chinese tanks that South Sudan did not. Those tanks absolutely crushed the T-72 tanks that South Sudan has. Though that kind of went sideways because South Sudan simply avoided the tanks and attacked in other areas. But if anyone is wondering, yes China’s military equipment far out paces Russia.
Vietnam. After the Sino-Vietnam war, China controlled about 20% of Vietnam. They declared victory and then told the Vietnam government that they respect their sovereignty and just simply left. It was the last war that China ever committed itself to.
Ultimately, China’s whole rise to power is one of completely unwillingness to get involved in anything. It’s one of the reasons no one respects China as a super power. However, with USA doing what it’s doing, it by default goes to China. I don’t know what it means ultimately, but at least for the near future, China is going to allow insane genocide in so much of the world. Something that USA would have gone to war over. They won’t be dominant, but are you sure that’s what you want?