"If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition onto the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons," [Major-General Zhu Chenghu] told an official briefing for foreign journalists.
[...]
"We Chinese will prepare ourselves for the destruction of all of the cities east of Xian. Of course the Americans will have to be prepared that hundreds ... of cities will be destroyed by the Chinese," he added.
Despite fifty years of Taiwanese independence, China still considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory. Taiwan quite understandably disagrees rather firmly with this point of view.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China, and has vowed to bring the self-governed democracy back into the fold. In March, China's parliament passed an anti-secession law authorizing the use of "non-peaceful means" to do so.
Sounds like the Sudetenland all over again.
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