It's not even profitable though... At this point it seems it is just about control, like they would rather have a money pit then let independent workers, ie creatives, have any profit.
I do wonder if they had a referendum whether this war would have been avoided. Maybe I'm just being idealistic but even if Crimea had voted to stay with Ukraine then that would have at least gone a long way to show it isn't simply the will of the hegemon. Or if Crimea had voted to go independent then the international community could create a new security agreement.
I wasn't the one who made that claim of Xi, I was the one who showed up with receipts and said you would have to read between the lines to arrive at a similar conclusion: that Xi & the party will use force if necessary to achieve the goal of reunification. Do you not think that is more relevant?
Glad you specified pre-2022, as in before the invasion that displaced many residents; yeah, I would support any region to hold referendums on the matter of self-determination. I think Ukraine was wrong to keep their people from voting on the matter, if they had issues with the process then they should have worked towards consensus on the matter of having a legitimate referendums.
Like I said, I recommend reading literature on the matter from CCP members to get more context on the matter. It won't help you shit post for karma but it does help one make sense of things.
I don't know about that, but I think the whole framework of "historical legitimacy" is flawed. Regardless of history, it's ultimately the people who get to decide what government is legitimate for them.
If the CCP were to let the people of Taiwan decide their political system then this question of identity is moot, the people would simply decide what government they identify with. Bringing up identity in this context is like saying a government owns a particular identity, which it never does, it always belongs to the people.
I mean I more or less support any country to develop military power to defend themselves, from the USA or any others. It's the application of military power to practice realpolitik that I don't support.
Honestly it's a reading between the lines. Xi says:
We will uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and advance peaceful national reunification. All of us, compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, must come together and move forward in unison. We must take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt toward “Taiwan independence,” and work together to create a bright future for national rejuvenation. No one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The "peaceful reunification" is aspirational, not practical. The practical is "take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt toward 'Taiwan independence'" and we see that with this military action. Consensus among CCP members is that peaceful reunification is unlikely to happen and that military force will be required (see the book "Leadership and the Rise of Great Powers" by a member of the CCP).
"We want him to act like a hegemon and purge people based on ideology instead of what they have done."
Go read "Leadership and the Rise of Great Powers", written by a member of the CCP to better understand what kind of leader Mamdani is vs the kind you are asking for and the consequences there of.
I read it and still share the same response. You expect him to say he will not hire someone to coordinate trash pickup based on their foreign policies? Lol okay.
The thing about these woodchipper orphan grinding machines is that as long as you are throwing others into the machine you get to stay in the back of the line.
They want artificial employees to discipline the labor market but what they will get instead is a deskilled labor force and business structures that are even more resistant to adaptation.
Step 1: place a bet on a prediction market that Dr Oz will be alive past a certain date
Step 2: get others to place "bets"
Step 3: pew pew
Step 4: someone gets rich
Edit: this is why such markets should be illegal