Regarding the recent visit of Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, I've seen comments from both sides: 'That is a gutsy move', 'We shouldn't cave in China', 'This is reckless, 'What is the point of doing this?', etc.
Tobler (Tobler, 1970) said, "everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things." It's not only about relations. The closer the places are, the more relevant and familiar to ourselves we tend to feel.
Let's look at distance. These are approximate distances. The measurements might differ depending on the app and calculation methods.
Taipei —Naha, Okinawa, Japan where the U.S. military bases are located: 600 km
Taipei —Tokyo, Japan: 2,100 km
Taipei —Soul, South Korea: 1,500 km
Taipei —Manila, Philippines: 1,200 km
Taipei —Washington DC: 12,700 km
Below are some reference distances.
New York City—Chicago: 1,200 km
Kyiv—Moscow: 800 km
Kyiv—Washington DC: 7,800 km
Would the House of Representatives visit Taiwan if was the distance of say Cuba, and China was threatening retaliation? Would the U.S. send military equipment to Taiwan if it was the distance of the U.S. from Cuba, which is about 1,800 km from Washington DC? During the Cuban Missile Crisis, did the USSR send its third in line to the presidency to Cuba?
The outcome of Pelosi's visit will be evaluated in the near future. But certainly, it was not a 'gutsy move.' The farther things are away, the less relevant they are to us; even if our actions might cost human lives. The gutsiest move is to prevent such human casualties regardless of how close or distant places are.
(map copyright: Google@2022)