LOS ANGELES — As a Taiwanese American, I'm filled with anxiety and dread every time I see Taiwan in the headlines.
It's not just that the news is never good for the small island nation that China claims as its own territory, where most of my family still lives. It's also because the issue is so politically tortuous that even smart, well-intentioned people have trouble following the conflict's twists and turns, ongoing for more than half a century.
Most recently, when Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met in Simi Valley last week, China responded with three days of large-scale military exercises that simulated a naval blockade of Taiwan, dubbed operation "Joint Sword" by Chinese officials.
