I have similar roots as you, in HK, Vietnam, US, etc. I also used to think US and the west were more of the problem (and they are indeed very problematic). but there are a ton of really shady things that China does. I actually found out by researching evidence that supported China’s view, and realized that “evidence” was shaky at best. I don’t think youtube videos are a good form of understanding everything, but I do hope you can discuss this with someone who is willing to have a real conversation rather than just hate on china cause I don’t think that’s right either.
Perhaps a professor that studies these things would give you a good chance to broaden your perspective and understand things better, or taking classes for a degree if you haven’t already. My specialty was in psychology, not politics. So I can comment that mentally, humans like to create sides (sometimes completely arbitrarily) and demonize the other side. Fear, hatred, aggression, and expansionism is unfortunately human nature. Most people are not strong enough to resist these things, and create a “gang” mentality - refusal or reluctance to admit your side is part of the problem is exactly what nationalism does. It’s a tool the government can use to push people to support it’s extreme views under the disguise of “we just want to protect ourselves!”.
Notice how you said “China doesn’t want war” but a simple visit from a US official made you say “would totally provoke them into war”. This is not normal. The way chinese citizens talk about each other and other countries is really horrifying and trigger-happy (we’ll crush those in taiwan! Taiwan will be ours!). People will die, yet all anyone can ever do is make reasons to justify invasion.
Why is Taiwan’s independence so awful? Why does it warrant invasion? You are trying to justify China’s reasons to start war. They disagree on politics - fine, then let them be? There were plenty of indigenous people of Taiwan, is it not wrong to push them out of their land or go against their wishes as well, just like how the US took Hawaii? Did they not see the corruption that happened in HK, and is that not China’s fault? All the candidates for HK selection are CCP supporters. Voting is almost useless. Candidates that express opposing views get disqualified or even jailed. Is that the US’s fault? Is that normal to you? You took the most extreme photo of random protestors holding a poster for Trump - should someone else also cherry pick info about China and justify takeover? Don’t people in Taiwan have a reason to be afraid and want to distance themselves from China? China had no respect for the agreed upon 2047 handover and instead forcibly took control of HK government, ignoring the agreement. If Taiwan wants to separate now, isn’t this a grave China is digging itself? Why should they trust China’s word if they didn’t keep their word for HK?
Nationalists are not just annoying. They are a vessel of violence and racism (just like the white nationalists of the US). You can have pride in your country (patriotism), but also realize that these nationalists come out in swarms to harass and attack others. I’ve seen enough death threats. Yes China does some good, but I don’t think anything justifies war.
Humiliation is weaponized to excuse acts of mass horror, just like how Germany reported they felt humiliated after WWI, which spun them into their Nazi genocidal role in WWII. Both the governments of the US and China tell a one sided story to get the public to support their goals. Sure they prevented people from worshipping US, but now they worship China instead. Both are bad, and both can’t stop pointing fingers at each other for one second. This is not unique to those two countries, it happens everywhere. Humans hate being accountable for their actions. While the US is responsible for a lot of anti-Chinese sentiment, the way some Chinese people conduct themselves can also be very damning. It doesn’t make sense to entirely blame anti-China sentiment on the US, and I feel like you just went to the opposite end of the extreme instead. But again, discussing with a professor on this may be more helpful to you. I’m not really interested in debating this stuff, and I would encourage you to listen to a wide variety of opinions and experts before drawing conclusions.