to have this soft power victory. so that leads us to this interview with npr where the chinese ambassador to the u.s. spelled out probably more clearly than i've heard a chinese diplomat say in quite some time what would happen from the beijing perspective if this u.s.-taiwan relationship continues to deepen. >> if, you know, the taiwanese authorities emboldened by the united states, you know, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve china and the united states, the two big countries in a military conflict. >> support for taiwan is one of those rare issues in washington, kim, that seems to unite republicans and democrats. saying friends in the democratic world should stand together. taiwan is counting on its friendships. it doesn't have formal diplomatic ties but has friendships with big powerful democracies and big powerful militaries including the united