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5 Feb, 5 tweets, 1 min read
Fun fact: China spends about the same % of GDP on its military as Taiwan's regime, but nearly 3x more per soldier
China: unofficial 2021 estimate of $260b spend / 2m active duty personnel = $130k per soldier

Taiwan: $15b 2021 budget / 290k personnel = $51k per soldier
This counterintuitive result is mainly because Taiwan island has nearly 8x as many soldiers per capita as mainland China (290k soldiers / 23m people vs 2m soldiers across 1.3b people).
Which side is the bloated garrison state, and which side has the elite, professional, and modern military?

Makes you think.
Another way of thinking about this is that if the entirety of the military on Taiwan island simply laid down its arms, their average pay would likely double. 😉

@timeswang

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More from @TheDailyMao

The Daily Mao Profile picture
5 Feb
BREAKING: The DPP of Taiwan has privately indicated to the US it might back an independence referendum in August of this year
That's what's behind their moves on TSMC
And it's what the DPP privately communicated to the US during a talk about auto chip shortages yesterday - which, curiously, did not focus on auto chips and did not speak to the issue of prioritizing their production ImageImage
Read 11 tweets
The Daily Mao Profile picture
4 Feb
1/ You may have noticed the faux-progressive Taiwan independence activists being a little more bold lately
2/ That's because their dear leader has figured out a new way to assert relevance on the world stage: by playing chicken with the global economy
3/ But it's not just autos. The DPP has weaponized the entirety of TSMC at this point. I have a source inside the company who can attest to this.

First, the US government and DPP have been collaborating to make sure US cos buy out TSMC's leading edge nodes until 2024
Read 22 tweets
The Daily Mao Profile picture
3 Feb
1/ Holy crap, this article by @thespandrell explains the HK situation so well

TLDR: HKers cannot reconcile their self-perceived higher status vs China, and the reality of their falling quality of life vs mainland Chinese.

Let me tell you some stories

spandrell.com/2019/08/25/hon…
2/ Once, at a reception, caught a bunch of HK girls gossiping about a mainland girl's lack of taste. "She's wearing so much Gucci. Doesn't she know that people who have been properly raised, wear Marni for casual and Valentino or Chloe for things like this?"
3/ Had a HK banker unironically tell me that "people like us are just working class, man" as he blew tens of thousands of HKD at a club.
Read 14 tweets
The Daily Mao Profile picture
2 Feb
In case it isn't blatantly obvious already, don't stick around in the US if you are Chinese and work in a STEM field - especially if you have expertise in AI, materials science, genomics, quantum physics, or any of the other 'sensitive' fields the US wants to control
No matter what, you'll be contributing to the economy of a regime that wants to keep China down, and you will likely be monitored by dedicated programs within US government agencies for the entirety of your career
Instead, you should either head back to China as soon as feasible - or stick around just long enough to get some valuable IP in your head and then leave.

Stick it to the US. Do everything you can to help China gain technological primacy.
Read 4 tweets
The Daily Mao Profile picture
1 Feb
...as predicted. Would be hilarious if the US sanctions Myanmar, India pulls out, and Myanmar hands over Sittwe to China to operate, thereby giving China a land-connected port on the other side of the Straits of Malacca. If I was China I would be hoping the US pulls the trigger
also note that Sittwe is the capital of the Rohingyas' home state, Rakhine, which means it would be ground zero for any sanctions the US imposes due to a genocide finding... and the India port/rail project is the single largest project by total FDI in that city
...and the main armed group in the region is reputed to be backed by Pakistan.

So you could theoretically see China orchestrating a deal if the Indians pull out where Rohingyas get more autonomy, Pakistan cuts ARSA support, and Myanmar redirects road/rail to Yunnan
Read 5 tweets
The Daily Mao Profile picture
1 Feb
1/ A few hot takes on the Myanmar situation:

a) Whether this is a net gain or loss for the US or China is murky
b) One thing is clear: neither the US nor China has much to gain from intervening in favor of one side or another
2/ Early reports suggest Chinese FM Wang Yi was briefed on the dispute between the Tatmadaw and ASSK's USDP somewhere between Jan 12 and Jan 14. However, this doesn't mean China supports these actions, because China has been getting along fine with the USDP for 4+ years now
3/ Indeed, since both the Tatmadaw, USDP, and numerous ethnic armies in Burma were all neutral-friendly with China, the PRC likely opposes any upheaval in Myanmar's political landscape - but is likewise not likely to lose much unless the situation further destabilizes
Read 7 tweets

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