What US Capture of Maduro Means for China’s Designs on Taiwan

The United States’ abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the early hours of Saturday went viral on Chinese social media, where netizens speculated Chinese leaders might use the attack as justification for a future decapitation strike on Taiwan.

But some longtime China watchers say it is unlikely to affect Beijing's calculus when it comes to the island democracy.

“I don't expect today's events in Venezuela will dramatically alter Beijing’s calculus on Taiwan. Beijing has not refrained from kinetic or other actions on Taiwan out of deference to international law and norms. It has pursued a strategy of coercion without violence,” wrote Ryan Hass, director of the Brookings Institution think tank’s China Center on X.

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