Pacific coexistence, anyone? No interest? Last bid!
I guess it is also part of the political game for the Chinese leaders to show off their new shiny power (at least the parts where it IS shiny
) to stand up against the almighty USA. Quite alike Kim Jong-Il's stand in North Korea, only more successful.
The point is that China is progressing impressively fast indeed, but not enough to stand against the US forces in the Pacific area, let alone invading Taiwan. One practical hing is that they don't have the amphibious capacity for that.
Besides, if Taiwan gets reunited to mainland China in the next years, it will be progressive an bloodless, like Hong-Kong with more rant
I don't want to be overly optimistic, but Chinese power apparatus is so intricately cross-controlled that no single power-crazed general is bound to launch a surprise strike anywhere just to get at the head of a war-torn country!
All progressist and thriving it may appears now, the country is deeply divided. The average Chinese is a poor farmer or worker without education, in some forsaken and trackless outback county, ruled by a distant, tax-thirsty and Kafka�an administration and corrupt, incompetent and tax-thirsty local delegates.
The wealth generated by the new economy is more concentrated than ever, and the leaders of the next generation tend to be sharks the like of which has never been dreamed of by the combat guppies of Wall Street.
Any bump in the fast-lane road to progress could very well topple the country into an endless and bloody continental civil wars. Enough factions want more air as it is. BTW, the next Olympics could be a pretty tribune for the unheard masses of the Empire... Let's wait and see.
Shortly put, that is why I don't think China will risk a military intervention against Taiwan and a war against the US in the real world.
This is purely off-topic, but hey, I thought that was worth explaining. For what my sources are worth.