The Chinese government since 1979 has been very successful in economic development, and successful enough, simply by surviving, in the realm of political development.

The greater concerns in China and Taiwan are on the political side, not on the economic side.

So, I think China desperately needs to legitimize some form of opposition.

I don't believe that economic and cultural interaction automatically brings greater peace and understanding, although it may help in that regard.

There is no question that Taiwan is a state in any political science definition of a state.

The most important thing that certainly the United States and other Asian and Pacific actors have done is to urge that whatever happens, however the dispute is resolved, that it be resolved peacefully.

Now, I believe that war is never inevitable until it starts, but there has been a great proclivity in human history, and including in recent history, for war.