When former U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O¡¯Brien visited Taipei earlier this year, he suggested that 1 million AK47-wielding Taiwanese ¡°around every corner¡± and ¡°in every apartment block¡± would be an effective deterrent to any Chinese invasion plans.
It didn¡¯t go down well.
¡°Arming citizens is not the answer,¡± ran the headline in the Taipei Times, over an op-ed responding to his proposal to make the assault rifle widely available in a territory with one of the world¡¯s lowest crime rates. ¡°Ludicrous and unimaginable¡± was former President Ma Ying-jeou¡¯s verdict, condemning what he called the island¡¯s ¡°weaponization¡± and a ¡°tendency to turn Taiwan into a second Ukraine.¡±
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