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The US should invite Taiwan to become the 50-nth state. Perhaps several states, to give them more Senate votes.

Numerous polls of the Taiwanese show that they would want to join the US if given the choice between independent statehood, joining the mainland, and joining the US.

Plus, the US gets a nice permanent military base and gets to monitor all future Chinese submarine activity.

If China attacks a US state, it would be like Yamamoto's "sleeping giant" moment. The US is trying to force China's hand while there is power asymmetry, and I can't think of a better checkmate move.

I’ve never heard of this idea of granting Taiwan statehood. Is this actually a concept which has been seriously considered by public officials, ever?

I suspect we will never see additional states added to the USA. It’s a very politically divisive topic.

I could see Taiwan becoming a US territory, but I doubt as a nation they would really like that.

Either of these options woii I led probably be viewed by China as an act of war...

We can't even get DC statehood which is very popular, DC residents want it hugely. Republicans block it. I would go for PR too, maybe a tradeoff since it's not reliably blue like you might imagine - or at least the 'blue' most people think of Dem.

The day this is even seriously proposed, China invades Taiwan.

And anyway, the vast majority of Americans wouldn't see and attack of a Taiwanese US state as a Pearl Harbor because its non sensical. Taiwan has 100 million people. Theres no way that population transfers to create the bonds necessary to make Taiwan “American” could occur. Hawaii had been a US colony for 50 years and mainland Americans had moved in displacing the natives. What is nationhood for you? How is Taiwan in any way American? They have little in common with us, yet you would make them the largest US state?

Taiwan is Chinese. Their family bonds are deep, and they share a common language and culture. The ancestor shrines for most Taiwanese (being refugees from the mainland) are in China.

Itd be much better to recognize Taipei as China and Beijing as a de-facto, yet criminal, ruler like we did before Nixon.

Either way, Taipei is perfectly capable of defending itself. Allied with Korea and a re-militarized Japan, they’d be the most fearsome military power in the world.

This is not an actual consideration in Taiwan -- the three options are "independence", "becoming a part of China" and "status quo". I think the mentioned preference for joining the US is more likely to come from a question like: "If Taiwan had to join a country, would you rather become a part of China or a part of the US?"

I don't know, that just raises the stakes so that losing would be much more embarrassing (as if that's the most important thing in geopolitics).

I mean, imagine the scenario where Taiwan becomes a U.S. state and then China invades and takes it anyways. And suppose the U.S. can't take it back without all-out (possibly nuclear) war, so they back down and let China have it.

That's a possible outcome that would have to be contemplated if Taiwan were to join the U.S.

First, DC statehood is not popular. Not outside of DC itself and the delusions of the Democrats who realized, upon loosing Miami, that demographics isnt destiny. Most Americans see that the right way to correct the grievance of lack of representation is by returning DC where it came from - Maryland. The political junkies are loath to dillute the insane additional political power they'd wield if they became a state.

Really, tell me, what is the argument for DC statehood that isn’t more fairly addresses by returning it to MD?

Second Puerto Rico is an oppressed colony, and statehood is not a gift but the final step of erasing their dream of independence. As a Latin American “¡Yanquis, pendejos, váyase de L. America!”

23 million people (rather than 100)

It isn't a thing, because its nuts outside of a “manifest destiny” wet dream

Its the kinda nutty dream likely to start a war just by mentioning it.

Consider the history of chinese civil war, and that Nationalists which founded Taiwan were flirting with Nazism and have comitted mass murder and near-wipeout communists, which were predesessors of today's Beijing government.

So there is loads of bad blood and pergaps easiest thing to happen is gor generations to change under status quo and for memory of these atrocities to fade into the background.

Returning to MD would for sure solve a lot of the arguments about representation, tax issues, etc.

I agree on PR it's not as liberal at least socially as many would assume. But DC is 100% a very very liberal city.

Polling has moved our direction, right now a plurality outside the margin nationwide support DC statehood at least in the last polls I've seen asking it.

And personally as you can guess my obvious political worldview I also don't think DC statehood alone is even enough power to seriously tip the scales against all the Republican tactics and advantages with the many other small states with aging populations/young wealthy people moving out. DC would just tip the scale slightly more towards equal IMHO

> Taiwan is Chinese. Their family bonds are deep, and they share a common language and culture. The ancestor shrines for most Taiwanese (being refugees from the mainland) are in China.

Taiwan and Taiwanese people don’t feel this way at all.

Within DC and because one party (rightly) believes it would give them a temporary political advantage in the Senate.

I would much rather return it to Maryland the same way Virginia withdrew its contribution to the District.

My guess is that as time goes on Taiwan will see itself more and more as Taiwanese than Chinese. Much in the same way that many French-speaking Canadians do not see themselves as necessarily French.

Suppose china invades Taiwan. Then what? They become a pariah state and lose all of their international trading partners for things like oil. Something like 50% of Chinese agriculture is dependent on foreign oil inputs...

Adding states to the union has always been a politically divisive topic. Hawaii and Alaska were added at the same time specifically so that the balance of power in the senate would stay even. Going back further the same thing was done with free/slave states in the 1830s.

I just hope the Supreme Court would find a DC statehood bill unconstitutional. There are so many other ways to address DC citizens grievances than adding a new state that is fundamentally different than the other 50 - in no small part because it was designed as an independent patch of land not part of any state.

Are you going to enlist to fight in a war to defend this territory that is magically claimed as a US state? What motivation will Americans have to fight and die for Taiwan? They will have none.

>the US gets

C'mon, this is not how geopolitics works. China could easily defend this land from US incursion and they aren't even letting Taiwan be independent let alone let US take it for themselves.

> What motivation will Americans have to fight and die for Taiwan?

Well if the Yanks are smart, the second it becomes a US state you strongly encourage two way migration so there are a bunch of square-jawed, grass-fed, All American kids living there that the US press can get exited about. Jack, Diane, and Tyrone getting shot at by the PLA is going to be a Big Fucking Deal.

Heck, if I was Taiwan I’d stop spending money on defence and just start spending money giving free university tuition to Americans.

From what I’ve read, some of them do and some don’t. Some Taiwanese still claim to be the legitimate Chinese government (in exile). Others would rather remain independent.

Not sure Russia, Iran, or the Saudis give a shit about Taiwan.

China only loses its oil shipments if it can't secure shipping through the Indian ocean or build an overland alternative. It won't make a move until those are complete.

>the second it becomes a US state

Putting the cart before the horse, that US could occupy this land before China defends it. Also, this is such a nerd bro theory, as if only you are clever enough to see the game being played...the US government could somehow completely fool their citizens into being bait for a war, moving to a disputed territory that inevitably will be a battleground, or again that anyone on the mainland will suddenly want to die for newly settled territory, conned into war so to speak. These square-jawed, grass-fed people are just very stupid, is your claim?

> such a nerd bro theory, as if only you are clever enough

This doesn’t sound like a conversation worth getting involved in

How does it even get to the Indian ocean? Will Indonesia let china-bound oil tankers through? Will Chinese oil tankers need to go around Australia to get to Iran or Saudi Arabia?