Steve Pearce: “I first became acquainted with Taiwan when I flew there. I was stationed in Southeast Asia in the military Air Force…”

“I first became acquainted with Taiwan when I flew there. I was stationed in Southeast Asia in the military Air Force, and we had missions in and out of Taipei and other airfields, and I began to have a love for the Chinese people there in Taiwan. After I came back to the United States, I met a good friend who had come from Taiwan and opened a small restaurant in my hometown of Hobbs, New Mexico. Joe Ye and his wife and their son have been long friends of our family. We have had many deep discussions about the future of Taiwan. So it was with some alarm that I went to Beijing and heard meeting after meeting where the leadership of that country began to say that Taiwan needs to understand that they should voluntarily admit to being part of mainland China. And then the question arose, What if they don't voluntarily do that? The response was always a very unanimous, straightforward, Then we will do it for them militarily. Those things began to alert me that we have in the future very difficult questions that we need to answer among ourselves here about our old friendships.”