Growing up during the Cold War, the idea of attack always seemed just over the horizon. That threat evaporated with the fall of the Soviet Union, but there are other threats.

I’ve long figured China was a major security threat to our nation, but they’re less of a threat to us than they are to Taiwan.

What’s more, Taiwan knows it. They’ve known it for ages now, and as the communist nation grows it’s military, Taiwan has to know it’s just a matter of time before they’re fighting.

And as David Codrea notes, they’re still keeping the people disarmed.

“The war in Ukraine saw civilians take up arms and put up a fierce fight for their homeland. As the war rages on, Taiwan is now taking cues to strengthen its home grown defence program in particular with civilians now proactively studying urban warfare to bolster their defences against China’s increasing military might,” The World is One News noted in the overview to its video report on the move to create invasion deterrents.

“Taiwan has been focused on strengthening its domestic defense programs with self-reliance now key, especially after Russia’s war on Ukraine which has served as a grim reminder of the plausibility of Chinese invasion that has rekindled the need to bolster defenses,”  the reporter explains.

“It’s not just the Taiwanese military taking inspiration from the fierce resistance of civilians in Ukraine,” the report elaborates. “Taiwanese people are now taking up urban warfare studies. The number of students studying urban warfare firearms studies and first aid courses has quadrupled.”

“Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war … there has been an increase of two to four times more people enrolled in our various courses,” one interview subject observes.

The concern is that criminals will get guns if the general public can get them.

However, since criminals get all kinds of illegal goods as things currently stand, it’s not difficult for us to ascertain that they could get guns if they wanted them.

Hell, I could see the Chinese commies providing those weapons.

If and when China rolls across the water and launches an invasion, the military won’t be enough to stop them. There’s just no way for the small island nation to have a large enough army and navy to either prevent the invasion or to stop it once it lands.

Which means you’re going to need more than those in uniform. You’re going to need a populace that is both armed and trained in how to use their weapons.

Ukraine recognized it and those partisans are a big chunk of why Russia didn’t have the easy time they expected. When Putin’s forces invaded Crimea, it was simple and easy for them. This time, they rolled into a buzzsaw, and while part of that has been Western assistance, it was armed Ukrainians that stepped up and put the hurt on the Russians until that help could arrive.

Taiwan would need to put that same hurt on China until help could arrive, and without armed citizens, I wouldn’t hold my breath on it happening.