I wonder if China’s leaders are more content with the status quo than they claim. Why wouldn’t they be? The status quo is pretty alright for China.
The status quo is soft reunification because every year, Taiwan's economy gets further intertwined with the Mainland's economy. At a certain point, Taiwan is going to be part of China one way or another even if the political realities don't completely line up with economy realities. Add to that close proximity (the ROC has territory within the coastline of the PRC) and near identical culture (no matter how much Taiwanese separatists want to deny it), and Taiwan being reunited with China is inevitable outside of some catastrophe that the US is gambling on happening.
If your economy is completely reliant on another country and you don't have a seat in the UN while that other country does, you aren't a sovereign polity. At best, you're an extremely autonomous region of that other country.
The status quo is soft reunification because every year, Taiwan's economy gets further intertwined with the Mainland's economy. At a certain point, Taiwan is going to be part of China one way or another even if the political realities don't completely line up with economy realities. Add to that close proximity (the ROC has territory within the coastline of the PRC) and near identical culture (no matter how much Taiwanese separatists want to deny it), and Taiwan being reunited with China is inevitable outside of some catastrophe that the US is gambling on happening.
If your economy is completely reliant on another country and you don't have a seat in the UN while that other country does, you aren't a sovereign polity. At best, you're an extremely autonomous region of that other country.
Not sure I agree with that. Lots of countries have economies entangled with larger neighbors, yet are independent.
It is independence in name only.
So, for example, Ireland is not independent according to you?
No, it is not, and the rest of Europe isn't much more independent.