Why We Need Taiwan - John F Copper

http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/why-we-need-taiwan-5815

China’s reunification of Taiwan will be its Wounded Knee. It will no longer need to focus on territorial matters and will doubtless look to realize power ambitions further from its shores.
Its navy has already, for twenty years, been the benefactor of large budget increases (bigger than the air force or army), indicating China’s naval power (enhanced by the recent addition of an aircraft carrier) is ready to break out.

If the 21st century is to be the Chinese century, how can they proceed with the Taiwanese question unanswered? Without Taiwanese acquiescence, the Chinese cannot proceed, psychologically or geographically. That means that at some point in the next thirty years or so there is either a confrontation or humiliating resolution between the Chinese and the Americans.