In Washington, politicians and pundits alike are debating how to understand and react to the white paper released on Feb. 21 by Beijing. And even in China, there seems to be some discussion on how to interpret the verbal missile lobbed at the United States, Taiwan and Japan.
Some scholars in the U.S. have argued that Beijing really did little more than restate long-established positions on why the mainland might go to war to recover Taiwan. Others, including members of the Congress, have interpreted Beijing's white paper as primarily intended for a domestic audience. Some Chinese have said that the white paper should be seen as little more than a reminder that the communist government will not exercise infinite patience.
The white paper must be read and interpreted on many levels, especially considering that it was followed a week later by an article in the People's Liberation Army newspaper reminding Washington that Beijing can hit the U.S. with strategic missiles.