WHY NOT TAIWAN? — The Weekly Opine

Taiwan seems more strategic than Greenland and is closer to Beijing than Greenland is to Denmark. (Photo credit National Geographic Society)

Here’s why not…

We’ll get to Taiwan in a moment. But first, a visual recap of my experience attending the global anti-Tesla, anti-Elon Musk rally. I drove to a Tesla dealership about 20 minutes from home last Saturday to check things out. In a nutshell, the people are fed up.

This early protest crowd became much bigger. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

A U.S. Navy veteran calls it like he sees it. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Organized by the progressive group Indivisible, protesters were peaceful and did not damage Tesla vehicles. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Protester’s moods were part buoyant, part anger and part determination. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Hard to argue with this sign. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

According to two officer friendlies, protesters show up every Saturday from 11am - 12noon. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

And now, Taiwan

Bullies notoriously pick on the less powerful, the relatively weak. We’ve all watched Trump pick on people, such as Gaza's Palestinians, Ohio’s Haitians, the Gold Star family, and the disabled NY Times reporter. Trump also picks on entire nations, e.g., small countries like Panama, Ukraine, Denmark and Denmark’s territory Greenland.

So, why hasn’t Trump staked claim to Taiwan? One of his lame excuses for going after Greenland is that Denmark has not treated the people of Greenland well. During JD Vance’s boondoggle to Greenland, the awkward, hillbilly (not a compliment) vice president claimed “Denmark has not devoted the resources necessary to keep the people of Greenland safe from Russia [and] from China.”

Of course, the same thing could be said about the way the People’s Republic of China (China) treats inhabitants of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Clearly, China abuses the human rights of its own people, as well as the Taiwanese. Mainland China covets bringing Taiwan back into the fold as a permanent part of China. China would then have a more palatable gateway from which to control shipping lanes in the South China Sea. Hence, China periodically conducts military exercises aimed at intimidating Taiwan and the U.S.

Given the strategic importance of Taiwan, why has there been no aggressively stated Trump desire to take over Taiwan, strategically, as well as to improve the safety of Taiwanese citizens?

Taiwan is acknowledged as a technological stalwart, a key U.S. innovation partner. Considering the importance of technology globally, why wouldn’t the Trump administration be jonesing to grab, for strategic purposes, Taiwan? Wouldn’t Taiwan fit nicely into one of America’s hip pockets? Why doesn’t Trump wax on and on about acquiring Taiwan?

The answer is easy… because it’s hard

Trump avoids mentioning annexing Taiwan because China is a much bigger, more powerful foe than Denmark. In classic bully modus operandi, he fears China because Trump understands that President Xi JinPing can kick his ass from Washington, D.C., to Mar-a-Lago and back to D.C. Everybody knows wannabe strongmen like Trump are easily frightened when facing someone of equal size. Trump can bully small NATO ally Denmark. But Trump treads lightly when it comes to superpower China.

Regarding Greenland, why pussyfoot around? If the goal of taking over Greenland is strategic, to thwart Russian aggression, why not just get it over with and invade Russia? Forget Greenland and Denmark. The Danish territory amounts to child’s play. Put on your big boy pants, Trump, and head straight to Moscow. Russia’s large enough to be our 51st thru 100th states. Or it could be called East America. Or West America. Or USA #2. Added bonus, Sarah Palin could be appointed governor of the section of Russia that’s visible from her porch in Alaska.

Heck, the DEI-themed Black Sea could be renamed the White Sea. CNN’s soft (not a compliment) Jake Tapper, an early adopter submitting to publicly calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, could be given the honor of cutting the ribbon. Picture Tapper seaside, with a huge CNN-branded “White Sea” sign in the background.

But I digress. Back to Taiwan. Taiwan sits 5,000 miles from Hawaii. Greenland is 1,500 miles from Maine. You might argue Taiwan is too far away to mess with. Because of the distance discrepancy, and China’s superpower standing compared to Denmark’s modest status, taking over Taiwan would most definitely be a harder ask, compared to annexing Greenland.

However, as the celebrated presidential historian Trump must surely know, given his recent fascination with releasing JFK classified documents, President Kennedy once said we do things “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Taking Taiwan away from China would be hard but let’s get on with it!

Where’s Trump? Under the bed? Hiding in a bathroom stall? Figures, just like a bully.