Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What People Get Wrong about the China-Taiwan Conflict
Go to nordvpn.com/johnnyharris to get a 2-year plan plus 4 additional months with a huge discount. It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee!
Check out all my sources for this video here: docs.google.com/document/d/1uYItlzl6S_32ULCZ3JovQdPS0ka_ZGlZ9ehOSQAnhaY/edit?usp=sharing
We hear a lot about Taiwan in the news lately. But we don’t hear much about how the conflict over this small island started. We’ll walk you through, not just the history of the conflict, but how the motivations of the powers involved have evolved and made Taiwan what it is today.
Join Newpress, our community-driven hub for creator journalism: newpress.com/go
Special thanks to:
- Hsiao-ting Lin, Hoover Institution Research Fellow & Curator of Modern China/Taiwan
- Michael Swaine, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft Senior Research Fellow, East Asia Program
- Jake Werner, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft Director, East Asia Program
MORE CHANNELS:
Check out my new channel with Christophe Haubursin - Tunnel Vision youtube.com/@christophe
Check out my channel with Sam Ellis - Search Party youtube.com/@SearchParty
All the music for this video was created by our in-house composer Tom Fox and is available to license or just to listen to on our music channel: youtube.com/@UCLB2sZa0kqPmkw2Bes59ePA
Do you have an insider tip or unique information on a story? Do you have a suggestion for a story you want us to cover? Submit to the Tip Line: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpNs1ykIwd7KNkwntN897X_SX9hJ8WiTH_erlLU_bQp2GGLg/viewform?usp=sharing
Get our World Map t-shirts now!
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I made a poster about maps - check it out: store.dftba.com/products/all-maps-are-wrong-poster
-- VIDEO CHAPTERS --
00:00 Civil War
03:49 U-Turn
06:43 Testing the Situation
11:32 Sino-Soviet Split
12:27 The Enemy of My Enemy
20:29 Taiwan Hangs On
26:13 Xi’s China
About:
Johnny Harris is an Emmy-winning independent journalist and contributor to the New York Times. Based in Washington, DC, Harris reports on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe, publishing to his audience of over 5 million on Youtube. Harris produced and hosted the twice Emmy-nominated series Borders for Vox Media. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways.
- press -
NYTimes: nytimes.com/2021/11/09/opinion/democrats-blue-states-legislation.html
NYTimes: nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000007358968/covid-pandemic-us-response.html
Vox Borders: youtube.com/watch?v=hLrFyjGZ9NU
NPR Planet Money: npr.org/transcripts/1072164745
- where to find me -
Instagram: instagram.com/johnny.harris
Tiktok: tiktok.com/@johnny.harris
Facebook: facebook.com/JohnnyHarrisVox
What People Get Wrong about the China-Taiwan Conflict
Go to nordvpn.com/johnnyharris to get a 2-year plan plus 4 additional months with a huge discount. It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee!
Check out all my sources for this video here: docs.google.com/document/d/1uYItlzl6S_32ULCZ3JovQdPS0ka_ZGlZ9ehOSQAnhaY/edit?usp=sharing
We hear a lot about Taiwan in the news lately. But we don’t hear much about how the conflict over this small island started. We’ll walk you through, not just the history of the conflict, but how the motivations of the powers involved have evolved and made Taiwan what it is today.
Join Newpress, our community-driven hub for creator journalism: newpress.com/go
Special thanks to:
- Hsiao-ting Lin, Hoover Institution Research Fellow & Curator of Modern China/Taiwan
- Michael Swaine, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft Senior Research Fellow, East Asia Program
- Jake Werner, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft Director, East Asia Program
MORE CHANNELS:
Check out my new channel with Christophe Haubursin - Tunnel Vision youtube.com/@christophe
Check out my channel with Sam Ellis - Search Party youtube.com/@SearchParty
All the music for this video was created by our in-house composer Tom Fox and is available to license or just to listen to on our music channel: youtube.com/@UCLB2sZa0kqPmkw2Bes59ePA
Do you have an insider tip or unique information on a story? Do you have a suggestion for a story you want us to cover? Submit to the Tip Line: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpNs1ykIwd7KNkwntN897X_SX9hJ8WiTH_erlLU_bQp2GGLg/viewform?usp=sharing
Get our World Map t-shirts now!
White "World Map" shirt: store.dftba.com/products/world-map-t-shirt-white?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=product_shelf
Tie Dye "World Map" shirt: store.dftba.com/products/world-map-t-shirt-tie-dye?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=product_shelf
I made a poster about maps - check it out: store.dftba.com/products/all-maps-are-wrong-poster
-- VIDEO CHAPTERS --
00:00 Civil War
03:49 U-Turn
06:43 Testing the Situation
11:32 Sino-Soviet Split
12:27 The Enemy of My Enemy
20:29 Taiwan Hangs On
26:13 Xi’s China
About:
Johnny Harris is an Emmy-winning independent journalist and contributor to the New York Times. Based in Washington, DC, Harris reports on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe, publishing to his audience of over 5 million on Youtube. Harris produced and hosted the twice Emmy-nominated series Borders for Vox Media. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways.
- press -
NYTimes: nytimes.com/2021/11/09/opinion/democrats-blue-states-legislation.html
NYTimes: nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000007358968/covid-pandemic-us-response.html
Vox Borders: youtube.com/watch?v=hLrFyjGZ9NU
NPR Planet Money: npr.org/transcripts/1072164745
- where to find me -
Instagram: instagram.com/johnny.harris
Tiktok: tiktok.com/@johnny.harris
Facebook: facebook.com/JohnnyHarrisVox
