Wasn't the Vietnam War broadcast live on television?

Certainly was, practically every night on the News.

It ended in a mad rush to get out of the US Embassy using helicopters landing on the Embassy rooftop. https://www.itourvn.com/blog/the-last-helicopter-out-of-saig...

Since then, reporters have been either banned or restricted in their reporting in the US's recent wars. The Armed Forces don't want people to see their failures, and develop another Anti-War Movement as in the 1970s

Has it not happened anyway?

Sure. Though one could argue that a Sino-Taiwanese war would be at least different because both sides involved would be largely co-ethnics of the same culture, and a fraternal war is more complex than imperial wars.

That said, the most civil wars end up pretty bloody anyway.

> both sides involved would be largely co-ethnics of the same culture

That's the Vietnam War, it's pretty similar, just instead of the North Vietnam alliance (with USSR and PRC), now it's just PRC

Different than what, the Korean war? Vietnam? The American secession war? Just brainwash the people with propaganda and they'll support it.

Those were all existential civil wars, though. Those wars threatened core territory and were very much in the face of the people involved. Those wars determined the fates of those nations far more than securing one wayward province. And both the ACW and the Vietnam War had its share of war protesters and resisters who were morally opposed or didn't see a reason to get involved.

An aggressive war on Taiwan would couple the conflicted feelings of a fraternal struggle with the civilian comfort of America's Cold War and War on Terror imperial adventures. Would middle class Chinese in the big coastal cities be completely fine with seeing or at least hearing about people pretty much just like them getting bombed across the Strait? Or would they view it as an unnecessary, gratuitous, extravagant, waste of life and treasure?

You brought up a good point. The Vietnam War (I kept using this example because I'm from Vietnam myself) happened because the North who pushed for it was poor and misled with propaganda.

With China and Taiwan, both are well-off and their citizens would not need to risk their livelihood if not necessary.

However, China seems to be following the path of America who's such a powerful bully that they can start wars left and right without any retaliation on their soil, save for 9/11. If that's the case, this logic won't apply at least to the China side, and again, propaganda.

Yeah, China attacking Taiwan unprompted would have shades of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Throwing around hegemonic weight. I just wonder if the common people will have different opinions of it from the government's. The distance between the two countries is far less than the distance between the U.S. and the Middle East.