China has said it will “never compromise” on the issue of Taiwan, in its first military talks with the US since 2021.
It urged the US to “stop arming Taiwan” and take its concerns “seriously”.
This comes just days ahead of pivotal elections in Taiwan, which could push the island further towards - or away - from Beijing.
China claims Taiwan as part of its own territory, but the island sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland.
Does this apply to Donetsk and Luhansk as well?
Want to make sure you are internally consistent here.
If they honestly wanted to leave Ukraine to join Russia, I don’t think Ukraine should stop them. But a) it complicates things when a country sends its own people to get a region to vote to join that country, b) it’s also further complicated when there’s a divide in the population (which also likely applies to the regions I mentioned), and c) I don’t trust a referendum run by today’s Russia after it invaded and displaced populations in those regions.
But yeah, I don’t just believe this when it’s politically convenient, though I would prefer to see such a mechanism used to enable self-governance rather than leaving one country to join another as ultimately I am anti-empire.
That’s a reasonable and well thought out answer, I can accept that.
I think your question was fair and don’t like that it’s being downvoted fwiw.
If you use sham referendums and Kremlin news sources as your basis for reality, why not move there? I’m sure Putin would welcome you with open arms!
I mean, shame elections were what split the country back in 2014 and caused the intra-state violence that eventually turned into an inter-state war. Eastern Ukraine has been dominated by Russian ethnic nationals and Russia-aligned businesses since the fall of the Soviet Union. The West is where all the Euro-loving Indies and Banderites live.
You hardly needed a referendum to know Donetsk would side with the Russians. That’s like asking how folks in Alabama feel about the Confederacy. Hell, Crimea was effectively a bloodless conquest in no small part because the Crimeans were totally opposed to the sitting Ukrainian government.