protect taiwan democracy and enhance deterrence in the taiwan strait. we have a long way to go to make sure we have strong deterrence in that part of the world. paul: when it comes to the taiwanese election it is fascinating. this is going to be a demonstration of chinese democracy in action. this presidential race is not as nasty as ours but every bit as hard-fought. we have three contenders who could conceivably win. is that what china is really bothered by, a self-governing chinese entity that could be an example on the mainland? >> 100%. such an important point we have to keep in mind. this is their eighth presidential election i and this is a huge vulnerability to the premise of xi xinping's