Taiwan is almost entirely dependent on imported fossil fuels for its power supply — a critical weakness in the event of a Chinese blockade. But the very democratic forces on the island that China would be seeking to destroy through forced unification are also standing in the way of the obvious solution: aggressive investment in nuclear power and renewable energies.
Illustration by Sam Ward
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be, even for a proven risk-taker like Xi Jinping, a huge gamble. Its outcome would likely be one of two extremes: a short, sharp victory achieving the Chinese Communist Party’s century-old goal of unifying Taiwan and its 23 million people with the mainland, or a humiliating defeat that would threaten its grip on power.
On August 5, 2022, Taiwan's Air Force detected 49 PLA aircraft on the median line of the Taiwan Strait. Credit: Ministry of National Defen
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