In the 1930s, the German Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler was on the rise. But every time Hitler showed signs of aggression, the global powers just sat on the fence and downplayed the Nazi ambition.
But Hitler just went on and on, thanks to his insatiable hunger for power. Finally, in 1939, when the Nazis launched an attack on Poland, France and Great Britain decided that they had seen enough. The global powers finally initiated retaliation against Nazi Germany, thus marking the start of World War 2.
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| US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, holds her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 29, 2022. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (AFP) |
This war led to the loss of millions of lives, leaving millions of others homeless and without family. By that time, it had become almost impossible to stop Hitler. This had become possible as he was allowed to grow his war machinery for a decade without any hindrance. Britain, France and Russia were too late to stop him; ultimately, innocent lives had to pay the price.
These days, a lot of experts believe that we're closer to World War 3 than ever before and we have more than one candidate in this case who can fill in the boots of Nazi Germany.
But for the sake of this essay, we will look at the Red Dragon from the east named China.
Amidst the rising tensions between China and Taiwan, a lot of people are asking why did Nancy Pelosi have to visit the island of Taiwan and further stir up the tension.
But we have to ask ourselves another question here. The same question that Britain, France and Russia should have asked themselves when Hitler was going on and on with his expansionist warfare.
Till how long are the world powers going to allow China to go on without any repercussions?
China has already infiltrated Hong Kong, effectively ending the democratic regime there. They have also taken apart the autonomy of Tibet and created a high surveillance-supported authoritarian system in Xin Jiang.
So now, the next on their agenda is Taiwan.
According to their "One China Policy", Taiwan is a part of China. But the Taiwanese people have a very different opinion. They believe Taiwan is a free nation and they want to stay that way.
But the communist regime in China can't let it happen.
It is pretty confusing as to why China, which has now become a major global power with enormous economic resources and such a vast stretch of landmass wants to go after a state as tiny as Taiwan.
To understand the reason behind this, we have to first understand what Taiwan represents. As we know, Taiwan is a democratic state, while China is under a communist dictatorship led by Mr Xi Jin Ping.
Since its foundation, Taiwan's economy has flourished and society has adopted a modern Western lifestyle.
So, Taiwan is a mirror which can show the Chinese people what mainland China can become under a democratic regime with open cultural exchanges with the outside world, particularly the west.
Thus, the very existence of Taiwan, as a democratic haven made of ethnic Han Chinese people poses a threat to the future of the communist regime in mainland China.
So, the communist party wants to do everything in its power to prevent Taiwan from obtaining any legitimate approval for its claims of sovereignty from the outside world.
And in this case, a visit by Nancy Pelosi, an American leader of such stature, only added to the fact that Taiwan is indeed a sovereign independent nation separate from mainland China.
So, what do you think? Did America make a mistake? Are we moving closer to World War 3? Or is it finally the time to put a full stop to the Chinese aggression?