Is a Chinese invasion of Taiwan on the near horizon?

The question is legitimate. China has been flexing its muscles this month, sending about 150 fighter and bomber aircraft through the southwest portion of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated what has been a key plank of the Chinese Communist Party’s platform since nationalists fled mainland China in 1949. Sooner or later, Xi said, Taiwan must be reunified with the motherland.