Taiwan's Real Deterrent: The Chip Dead Switch
Position statement
From the essay
What the media is fretting about Taiwan is, in large part, pure political rhetoric. Not because China is friendly. Not because Taiwan is safe in some sentimental sense. And not because military conflict is impossible in human affairs. It is because Taiwan has something much stronger than speeches, treaties, televised warnings, or talking-head panic. Taiwan has a game-stopper. Here is my key position: China does not plan to capture Taiwan by force, by invasion or otherwise, because force may destroy the very prize China would want to capture.
Adapted from PDF pages 1.