When we landed in late March at Songshan Air Base in the heart of Taipei, the stakes in Asia were not abstract. Hardened hangars, jet fly-bys and armed personnel are part of daily life in a capital just a hundred miles from China. That proximity shapes every decision Taiwan makes. An invasion by China would trigger an immediate global economic catastrophe and the loss of countless innocent lives. The stakes are high, and they matter to people all over the world.