If I remember correctly, the original Taiwanese people wanted nothing to do with the "nationalist" Chinese. They considered Chang an invader when he and his followers landed in Taiwan. Thousands were killed defending the island from Chang. Are we really going to go to war do defend this? Are hundreds maybe thousands of young Americans going to die so GW can show that he's a tough guy to the mainland Chinese? I doubt it, unless GW is the complete idiot people suspect. At this point it becomes moot. There's a lot of money to be made by the major corporations in China. These are the same corporations that financed GW's "presidency". The shrub can rattle his saber all he wants. It will satisfy the Heritage gang and others that aren't happy without a cold war or boogie man to shout at on their pathetic news/talk shows. If things begin to get hot, the big money will reign 'em in. From what I understand, in the initial days of the "crisis", when GW was talking tough, the white house and congress were flooded with alarmed e-mails and faxes from Chamber of Commerce , National Association of Manufacturers, and other business types. Bush quickly reverted to talk of diplomacy and resolved the "crisis".