https://youtu.be/MYA-KAs9uZ0 -Play 0:00-0:27
 
Will there be war between China & Taiwan? That was Taiwan’s minister of foreign affairs, Joseph Wu responding, you’ll hear more from him in a moment. Happy Friday ladies and gentleman, this is Garrison Hardie, pinch hitting for Pastor Toby, for this Friday, June 17th, 2022. Today, we’ll be talking about the potential of war between Taiwan, and China, the U.S. is still supplying Ukraine with weapons, and urging its allies to not lose steam with regards to supporting Ukraine militarily, a big win for Republicans in a historically blue south Texas, and a university changes it’s mascot, because it wasn’t inclusive enough… Before we get to our news for the day, a word, from New St. Andrews! 
 
New Saint Andrews:
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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/world/asia/china-taiwan-ukraine-military.html 
 
So, back to Taiwan and China… ever since Russia began an assault against Ukraine, many have speculated that China may do the same to its neighbor Taiwan. Taiwan’s minister of foreign affairs, Joseph Wu, sees a lot of similarities between what’s happening in Ukraine, with Taiwan’s situation with China: 
 
https://youtu.be/MYA-KAs9uZ0 -Play 0:27-0:136
 
Did you catch that? He said, “China has said Taiwan is just another part of China.” That sounds pretty familiar to what Putin had said leading up to his invasion of Ukraine, where he was quoted as saying, “Ukraine is not just a neighboring country, it’s an integral part of our history, culture… modern Ukraine was created entirely by Russia. By Bolshevik Communist Russia to be exact.” Interesting. 
 
So what’s going on in Taiwan in preparation for a potential war? According to the New York Times, Taiwan’s defenses are, by many accounts, ill-equipped and understaffed. Its president, has vowed to defend the island, but she has struggled to impose a new strategic vision on the uniformed leadership.
 
Taiwan spends billions on fighter jets and submarines, yet its conscripts barely get enough ammunition for training. The mandatory military service is seen by many as too short, and the reservist program, insufficiently rigorous. The military is building a professional force, but has struggled to recruit and retain highly skilled soldiers.
 
On top of that… Taiwanese citizens are not allowed to be training with weapons of war… there are videos of them training with airsoft guns! Go look it up on Youtube right now. Not exactly the kind of preparation for all out war you want right? Thank God for the second amendment. I always hate the argument made by gun control supporters that say, “oh what do you think the average gun owner would have a chance against the federal troops?” Answer, yes, they would. We have 300 + million people in this country, about 42% of American households have guns in the home, and there are more guns than people here in the U.S… yes, they’d be a problem to those federal troops. Oh by the way, visit our friends at Armored Republic if you want to get armor that could stop bullets from the imperial troops… anyways. 
 
Underlying Taiwan’s defense dilemma is a question left unanswerable by design: Will the United States send military forces to Taiwan’s aid? In May, President Biden suggested he would, but the United States offers no explicit security guarantees, a strategy it hopes will avoid either provoking Beijing or emboldening Taiwan to declare formal independence.
 
Mr. Xi has said he seeks a peaceful unification with Taiwan, and he may be deterred by the huge economic and diplomatic blowback China wou