Thread by @ChuckDeVore

I’m thankful that the American people are waking up to the danger from the People’s Republic of #China. It’s taken longer than it should have because our foreign policy elites grew too comfortable and rich off the status quo. 1/14

In 1998, I took 5 months off from work to research and write a novel warning of a coming conflict with China. “China Attacks,” with co-author @StevenWMosher, was the result of this effort. amazon.com/China-Attacks-… 2/14

As a U.S. Army intelligence officer, I spent months researching the equipment, doctrine, and order of battle of the People’s Liberation Army forces arrayed next to the #Taiwan Straits. I war gamed a potential conflict and then turned it into a novel. 3/14

My theory was that few people would ever read a nonfiction book about the #China threat, fewer still if it was authored by me, whereas a decent fiction book might attract attention and an audience and get some people to thinking outside the box. 4/14

We launched “China Attacks” in 2000. Due to rising tensions between communist China and a free Taiwan, stoked by Taiwan’s first peaceful transition of power with the election of Chen Shui-bian in May, interest in the book soared. nytimes.com/2000/05/20/wor… 5/14

Later that year, a Hong Kong and Taiwan-based publisher inquired about securing limited rights for the publication of “China Attacks” in Asia. This interest was spurred by a page 3 article in the Financial Times of London that largely focused on my book. 6/14

The book became a best seller in Taiwan. Of course, it was banned in China. I was invited back to Taiwan to do a book tour in 2001, appearing on all of that island nation’s major news networks. 7/14

I participated in a panel discussion for members and staff of Taiwan’s legislature. The spokesman for the pro-China party showed up to denounce me in colorful language. I even saw the Taiwanese edition of the novel in bookstores. translate.google.com/translate?hl=e… 8/14

Today, tensions are rising between the People’s Republic of China and the United States. This was inevitable. #China, ruled by the corrupt and ruthless Chinese Communist Party, is an expansionist power. 9/14

In 1998, the U.S. was long overdue for a reevaluation of our Cold War marriage of convenience with the PRC. Instead, in the hopes of making money and changing China, we opened up trade, making China more powerful and the Chinese Communist Party more entrenched. 10/14

Today, Communist-ruled China has become the greatest threat to America since Britain invaded our shores in the War of 1812 – that was the last time we fought an enemy with an economy on par with ours. 11/14

We are waking up to the China threat. Some 22 years ago, I saw this threat and did what I could to raise concern with my novel “China Attacks.” amazon.com/China-Attacks-… 12/14

I’m thankful that President Trump @realDonaldTrump and key advisors like Secretary of State Pompeo @SecPompeo, Secretary of Defense Esper @EsperDoD, and National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien see the threat from the Chinese Communist Party for what it is. 13/14

The situation may well get worse before it gets better, but appeasement of ruthless and powerful totalitarian regimes never works and only weakens the forces of freedom and democracy. 14/14