Chinese warships have docked in Hong Kong to encourage the people there to be more patriotic. Hmmmm.

The ships are also there to put a fright into Taiwan:

“We are always on call,” said Yao Xingyuan (么興遠), commander of the battle group. “If necessary, we have the ability to preserve the stability of the Taiwanese political situation.”

Opportunism in the making? Probably not. More shield banging. It is unlikely that the PLA could make an amphibious assault without full scale support from the air. It would take a massive undertaking. One that I certainly hope never to see.

Most folks believe the show of force will not sway Chen Shui-Bian’s current thinking . . . in the past, such displays have had exactly the opposite effect.

If China is worried about so-called Taiwan independance movements, then the best course is to make the Chinese economy more interdependant with Taiwan’s. Allowing more visits and direct links as well as encouraging massive travel and education. Economic and cultural interdependance makes political independance less valuable. Taiwan could use similar strategies to safeguard itself as well.