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Tuesday, September 9, 2025

War and conflict. [mr thomas email]

 War and conflict.

Lau Wei Yiang
The conflict between India and Pakistan should be brought to a conclusion. It should not be allowed to continue, and so do the war in Israel/Palestine and Russia/Ukraine.

If things do not go well, a Taiwan/China scenario or a North/South Korea or even a US/Canada conflict can erupt. The usage of nuclear weapons is very scary.
Thomas Koshy<thomaskoshy082@gmail.com>
I agree with you. 
Lau Wei Yiang
China/Taiwan Problem
Taiwan is known as the Republic of China and was the Kuomintang entity of all of China. The current China is called the People's Republic of China and is founded following the victory of the communists in Mainland China. 

In Taiwan:
The Taiwanese people do not want to be part of China because of the autocratic, unfair and controlled supression of freedom of thought in China. The current president of Taiwan, Mr William Lai, is part of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party which favors Independence from the whole of China. The Taiwanese people want to preserve democracy in this particular Chinese cultural region of East Asia. They do not want to end up like Hong Kongers where freedom of thought is closely surpressed.

In China:
Since ancient times, Taiwan had been part of China based on ancient maps like the Qing Dynasty or even part of China before the Communist takeover of Mainland China. China intends to invade the island and take over Taiwan to reinforce the belief of Taiwan being part of China.

The Chinese government has taken the step towards Taiwan by denying it many prominent positions and giving it low status in international meets.

Taiwan competes in the Olympics as Chinese Taipei. It also participates in the same name under the World Health Organization. It is only given UN observer status.

But Chinese Taipei is a very funny name. As someone who understands Chinese, and being a Chinese myself, Chinese people refer to the name Chinese Taipei under two sets of words in Mandarin:

  1. 中国台北 (Zhong Guo Tai Bei)
  2. 中华台北 (Zhong Hua Tai Bei)

While the two words mean "Chinese Taipei", they carry very different meanings, especially with the term, 'Chinese'. 

In Taiwan, the term Chinese refers to the culture; Chinese people, Chinese culture, Chinese language, just like in Singapore and Malaysia where Chinese culture is practiced.

But in Mainland China, the word 'Chinese' refers to the nationality, that Taiwan is a part of China and a province of China. 

The term Chinese Taipei is a neutral term; but it is generally interpreted in duo agreement that the term Chinese Taipei refers to a territory full of Chinese people and culture, and the capital of said territory is the city of Taipei. 



India/Pakistan Problem
When India was conquered by the British, the British established a British Raj in India when governing India. The British also incited racism among the Hindu and Muslim population of British India. Therefore, a partition was proposed to have a Hindu state and a Muslim state on the Indian subcontinent. This gave rise to India, West Pakistan (Pakistan) and East Pakistan (Bangladesh). 

Pakistan and India have a series of conflicts because indirectly, they hate each other and want to show dominance.



Russia/Ukraine problem
Russia is the largest country in the world. Prior to 1991, the Soviet Union included both the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, both Russia and Ukraine separated into different countries. 

Due to historical geopolitics, Russia maintained a buffer zone under the Iron Curtain which comprised a total of seven Communist countries; Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Moldova, East Germany, Romania and Bulgaria. All the countries plus Russia belong to the Warsaw Pact.  

Inside the Soviet Union, there are a total of 12 Soviet Socialist Republics, and Ukraine was one of them.  Location of the Ukrainian SSR (red) within the Soviet Union (red and light yellow) between 1956 and 1991

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, a handful of former Soviet republics, namely Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Georgia, have all wanted to persue economic integration with Western Europe. However, in Ukraine and Georgia, politics are divided between pro-EU supporters and Russian loyalists. Russia has intervened in Ukraine and Georgia to ensure these areas become pro-Russian, just like Belarus. Those who are pro-Russian have been granted peace by Russia. 

Those on the other hand who favor greater EU ties are harassed and blackmailed by Russia, including the Baltic States and Ukraine.




Israel/Palestine Problem
After British troops pulled out, the West Bank was partitioned between Israel and Palestine. Both intend to control the same territory, especially the holy city of Jerusalem.

Israel and Palestine have accused each other of inciting conflict against the other. The caveat to this is Israel being recognized as a sovereign state while Palestine is not recognized globally as a country. Instead, it is treated as a second class citizen in the United Nations.




North and South Korea
After the end of the Second World War, the territory of Japan was partitioned. The territory of Korea was divided into North and South Korea. North Korea was administered by Soviet forces. South Korea and the Japanese archipelago were under US control. Taiwan was ceded to the Republic of China and the island of Sakhalin to the Soviet Union. Other colonies were redirected to British forces. 

The North Korean government was led by Kim Il Sung and the South Korean side by Syngman Rhee. Both countries fought the Korean War and until today, do not sign a peace treaty and continued to claim the entire Korean peninsula under their rule. 

But in Korea, many families want North and South Korea to reunite, as the division of Korea split families across the border. However, a growing youth population in South Korea is not favorable of reunification as a united Korea.



United States and Canada
Canada and the US are culturally similar. Their cities look the same. Their roads look the same. Their culture is very similar and they have a common league under joint control such as the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and a bunch of sports organizations. 

The only difference is that Canada is a parliamentary system and a Commonwealth country following Westminster practices of the United Kingdom. Canada has free healthcare, and the people are more polite than the US. The cities are much cleaner and the quality of life is better.

America, however, has rampant gun violence, is quite serious, and follows Washington politics. Plus, their cities are full of crime and the only luxury is that Americans get to elect and run for President. 

Canada was formerly a territory known as British North America and the British forces in Canada fought America in the War of 1812, burning Washington in the process. And that was the only major conflict between Canada and America.

But Donald Trump is wanting to have Canada become the 51st state. This is because Canada has a lot of resources and that it will also be easier for free trade across the 49th parallel. Trump continued to claim that Canada should be part of America for all sorts of reasons, but I believe it's just a bombastic thing. It will only become part of America when pigs fly. 

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