| Many mainland Chinese see this as the Americans taking over the land of the Indians and proclaiming Manifest Destiny. How in the hell is taking over a landmass the size of Connecticut do any good if everything on it is bombed to hell?
There is some sensibility in the US diplomat's statements. The US obviously doesn't want Chen to rock the boat. On the inner channels they will defend them if China makes the first move. And I'm pretty sure CCP doesn't want to go to war over this, so they won't make the first move of aggression. The more Taiwan is forcing China's hand, the more the Chinese people will itch towards war. I'll blame Chen for this because the Taiwanese are divided in half on independences and most genuinely want the status quo.
Despite all this, big free US will sacrifice it's principles of democracy again if it will help prevent them from another war that they don't want....
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups |