Taiwan wouldn't be such an issue for me if the Taiwanese were half as democratic as we give them credit for being. They seem to be one of the last few countries we connect with in order to piss-off and have some bargaining power over our opposition.

They have a right to be a separate nation from Mainland China, but they seem to control their people with different means but definately to the same end as Big China. Not that they don't have a precarious position.

I wonder what would happen if China decided to pull a Iraq/Kuwait? What would the nations of the world do? Do you think that it might be a nuclear situation?

As for China and "Most Favored Trading Status" - I say, let's give it to them and little by little their country will be destroyed by MacDonald's and Nike just like the rest of the world.

It is a shame that xenophobic countries are rarely fair to their people - I'd kind of like to live in one. (instead, I live near Disney World and have the ability to say hi to 29 milloin of yall each year.)

pax yall