Yup. We just snap take 'em out. 
As filmstar-en points out, it would be counter-productive to the point of insanity for China to try it. They need the trade, from Taiwan and the rest of the world, or they go back to being a Third World county.
That having been said, I voted Yes. They invade Taiwan, we take out their navy and air force and make life difficult for everything on the Chinese coast, and then work out a ceasefire.
If necessary - Taiwan may, or may not, ask for/require our help. If the Chinese begin to cut up stroppy, we would position a carrier or three in the region before any invasion and mention that a stand down would be a good idea.
China is unlikely to try anything - they are playing a long game, which is to the benefit of both sides.
Regards,
Shodan
Where do you think these troops would find ground to go to?
Sadly to say though, their new leader is starting to act like another Kil Il and just might be so crazy. And the thing is China, after being pushed around the last 200 years, wants to become a major power in the world.
They might just try it.
I’m curious to know what there is left to fight over between China and Taiwan anyway. Is the Taiwanese man-on-the-street’s life that much better than his mainland counterpart these days? Mao’s been dead a long time and things have changed quite a bit since then.
From what I am told by the people I know there – changed and not changed. The really hard times, to many, were more the first years after Mao’s death and they feel something like that could be coming again. Some people get to travel to other countries, including this one, and it isn’t the closed society it was. But big portions of the internet are denied and people can easily lose internet access for good over a simple post. News is controlled and so is movement. And there are chances to better yourself but it takes time and a lot of luck in cutting through the “red” tape. If the Japanese are doing better and have things they don’t, who cares? That’s the Japanese and they still don’t like them. If I am doing things they cannot ---- well us Americans have always been like that. But Taiwan? Those are Chinese just like “us” and look at all they have we don’t. Maybe we should have that. As a result the government on the mainland feels they would be safer in the future bringing them under their control while they still have it.
And as we have seen in other places, and even here -------- get the wrong person in power and you just never know.
China has always considered Taiwan to belong to China, even after having officially handed over Taiwan to Japan in the year 1895 (Treaty of Shimonoseki.) After World War II, China began agitating for Taiwan to be “returned” to the mainland, and it’s a call that’s grown steadily louder and louder of late. Irredentism.
Kind of like how Bangladesh used to be East Pakistan, except imagine if Pakistan today were still trying to take Bangladesh back.
I think there is also the fact that the PLA, wants to actually win a war somewhere.
So, what does this insight have to do with anything?
Ravenman, what do you think about the poll question? Yes or no?
Not sure what you mean by this. If the PLA wanted to win a war, it would be much better off doing a “Grenada” and cherry-picking some easy-to-win war on a small scale - maybe some intervention against Islamic terrorists on the Afghan/Uzbek/Tajik/Kazakh border, or some battle against Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa, etc.
Trying to invade Taiwan would be one of the most difficult undertakings the PLA could possibly undertake, likely with hundreds of thousands of deaths and a high chance of failure.
Yes.
The problem, as I see it, is that there are a lot of serious divisions in China; a capitalist economic system vs a communist political system, rural vs urban, rich vs poor, north vs south, Princelings vs Youth Leaguers, Han vs every other ethnic group, and even men vs women. I’m concerned that somebody might decide to try to unify these divisions by provoking a conflict with an outside enemy.