Inflection EP16: Taiwan as America’s Battering Ram vs. China

This week we talk about Taiwan, the Mainland, and how the US withdrawal from Afghanistan bodes for the government in Taipei.

We also discuss the recent “declaration of war” by the US-backed parallel government in Myanmar - the “National Unity Government” and how this conflict continues inching toward a Libya-style scenario.

News:

*NUG Declaration of War*

NUG Facebook - Declaration of War:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=external&v=605821454129982
Myanmar Now - Myanmar’s shadow government declares ‘resistance war’ against military junta:
https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/myanmars-shadow-government-declares-resistance-war-against-military-junta

*NUG-PDF Atrocities*

Myanmar Now - After a bold attack, PDF fighters consider their next move:
https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/after-a-bold-attack-pdf-fighters-consider-their-next-move
Myanmar Now - Attackers in Yangon kill suspected military informant then detonate bombs when junta forces arrive to investigate :
https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/attackers-in-yangon-kill-suspected-military-informant-then-detonate-bombs-when-junta-forces
Myanmar Now - As spate of killings continues, anti-junta forces warn of more to come:
https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/as-spate-of-killings-continues-anti-junta-forces-warn-of-more-to-come
Reuters - Boycott and bombings mar Myanmar's new school year:
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/boycott-bombings-mar-myanmars-new-school-year-2021-06-02/

*US-backing of NUG*

NED - BURMA 2020:
https://www.ned.org/region/asia/burma-2020/
Mother Jones - Myanmar Opposition Leader: We Need More Help From Biden to Defeat the Military Junta:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/08/dr-sasa-myanmar-opposition-joe-biden/
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman - Twitter post on discussion with Zin Mar Aung:
https://mobile.twitter.com/DeputySecState/status/1423026455844298754
NED - Ms. Zin Mar Aung:
https://www.ned.org/fellows/ms-zin-mar-aung/
NED - The 2012 Democracy Award Aung San Suu Kyi:
https://youtu.be/-J4q1Q1KCvw

Main Topic: Taiwan

***Taiwan as a US Proxy***

NED - TAIWAN FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRACY:
https://www.ned.org/taiwan-foundation-for-democracy-taipei/
Taiwan Foundation for Democracy - International Grants in 2019:
http://www.tfd.org.tw/opencms/english/grants/international/International0018.html
GT - DPP collusion with hostile US ‘NGOs’ open as ever:
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1206145.shtml
SCMP - CCP mouthpiece accuses Taiwan’s ruling party of meddling in Hong Kong affairs:
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3093817/chinese-communist-party-mouthpiece-accuses-taiwans-ruling
Cambridge University Press - Inside Taiwan's Sunflower Movement:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/inside-taiwans-sunflower-movement-twentyfour-days-in-a-studentoccupied-parliament-and-the-future-of-the-region/DB4A7B57538A6F06DC6C8CF0058C8040

*** Taiwan: Basketcase “Democracy”***

The Diplomat - Taiwan President Sues Scholars for Alleging Her Doctorate Degree is Fake:
https://thediplomat.com/2019/09/taiwan-president-sues-scholars-for-alleging-her-doctorate-degree-is-fake/
BBC - Taiwan's brawling in parliament is a political way of life:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40640043
Guardian - Taiwan president shot in election attack:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/20/china.jonathanwatts

***Economic Integration with the Mainland***

ABC - Nearly 1 million expatriate Taiwanese in China to forgo vote as their side's chances dim (2016):
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-14/nearly-one-million-expatriate-taiwanese-in-china-to-forgo-vote/7089800
Taiwan.gov - CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS:
https://www.taiwan.gov.tw/content_6.php
SCMP - Strait ahead: how Beijing is planning world’s longest rail tunnel to link Taiwan to mainland:
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2158271/strait-ahead-how-beijing-planning-worlds-longest-rail-tunnel-link

***Prospects of a “Chinese Invasion”***

RAND Corporation - War with China: Thinking Through the Unthinkable (2016):
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1100/RR1140/RAND_RR1140.pdf
Statista - The Military Imbalance In The Taiwan Strait
https://www.statista.com/chart/3471/the-military-imbalance-in-the-taiwan-strait/
NYT - Taiwan, After Rejecting South China Sea Decision, Sends Patrol Ship:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/world/asia/south-china-sea-taiwan.html

***Afghanistan Context***

ABC - Why does China want to build a "friendship" with the Taliban? - The Backstory with Matt Bevan:
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/the-backstory-with-matt-bevan/13528836

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