A war between China and Taiwan would result in a “miserable” victory regardless of who won, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters on March 10. Chiu added that it would be best for both sides to avoid overt conflict. “If there’s a war, to be frank, everyone will be miserable, even the victors,” Chiu said. The comments came before Taiwan’s parliament was set to discuss the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on its own national security. Experts believe that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is studying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to inform its own plans for a possible invasion of Taiwan. CCP leadership claims that Taiwan and its surrounding territory is a breakaway province, even though the democratic island has been self-governed since the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping has vowed to unite the island and the mainland and has not …