China might find itself the victim of the government's own nationalistic propaganda to whip up support for the communist party's sole role in governing:
The governments decades old diplomatic campaign against Taiwan, whose independence is protected by American armed forces, has escalated into dangerous territory. Diplomatic pressure, and economic threats, have forced every country on the planet, except the United States, to stop selling weapons to Taiwan. Now, the popular enthusiasm for this approach, cultivated by decades of nationalist propaganda inside China, is putting pressure on the government to make some real threats to the U.S., to halt American arms sales to Taiwan. If the U.S. continues refusing (usually) to be intimidated, this escalation of threats could lead to war.
And remember, that it could be very rational to decide to go to war if the Chinese government finds itself caught between the dilemmas of an angry people willing to rise up against a government that won't defend it's honor and interests on the one hand, and war with America that they can talk themselves into believing is too weak willed to fight--or fight for very long, anyway.
