>Taiwan’s story is the mirror image. Twenty-three million people built a world-class economy and a resilient democracy by pairing technological excellence with open debate and free exchange. >Subordinating that success to the dictates of an authoritarian system holds no appeal, especially after the unraveling of Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” — the very template once marketed to Taiwan. If Beijing wouldn’t keep that promise for Hong Kong, why would it honor it for Taiwan? >Taiwan sits at the center of global semiconductor production. Moving it into Beijing’s orbit would concentrate, not diversify, risk, placing the world’s most advanced chips and manufacturing know-how under the political leverage of an authoritarian state.