Eyck Freymann

So I think Taiwan has understood since 2019

that if they take one country, two systems, it's the slow beginning of the end of their democratic institutions and their freedom.

It is not a deal that they would take, I think, willingly.

But if they feel that the United States and the rest of the world isn't backing them up,

And Beijing essentially says, you want to do this the easy way or the hard way.

I can imagine a world in which they choose the easy way.

And this matters because we're not just talking about peacetime.

We're also talking about crisis scenarios.

There's all kinds of things that China can do to dial up the pressure.

They can mobilize their forces in the Taiwan Strait for a potential invasion.

Oh, it's just an exercise, it's just an exercise, until it's not.

They can start to curtail the flow of goods and planes

coming to and from Taiwan.

They can start to ask for manifests.

Who's on the plane?

Oh, so sorry, Ike is on the plane.

Could you make a pit stop in Shanghai?

We want to ask him some questions.

There's so many ways that Beijing can turn up the pressure.

They probably have special forces, united front people on the ground in Taiwan.