Two Su-35 fighter jets and a H-6K bomber fly in formation on May 11, 2018. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force conducted patrol training over China's island of Taiwan.File photo:China Military

 Taiwan secessionist authorities continue to seek support, including military ones, from the US to disrupt the national reunification of China, and this proves that the message of the Chinese mainland of a peaceful solution toward Taiwan compatriots and the serious warning to authorities on the island have been ignored, with experts from both sides of the Taiwan Straits saying this is "the last madness" of the secessionists before their doomsday, and the hope of a peaceful solution to the Taiwan question is declining sharply.

In a meeting on the defense industry between the US and the island of Taiwan in the US from Sunday to Tuesday, Yu Chien-Feng, a defense representative of the island to the US, read a letter from the island's defense authorities, claiming that Taiwan's armed forces are eyeing an "asymmetric war" against the Chinese mainland, hoping to "deny the enemy from the other side of the Straits, attack the enemy from the sea, destroy the enemy at shore and eliminate the enemy on the beach," Taiwan media reported on Tuesday.

The secessionist Democratic Progressive Party's leaders including its head Tsai Ing-wen continue to make provocative secessionist statements and acts.

After Tsai implied a "two-state theory" on Sunday, You Si-kun, a politician of the DPP and head of Taiwan's legislative body, also made a shocking statement that the DPP authority "might build formal diplomatic ties with the US" by 2028 as China-US relations are worsening and the so-called "Taiwan-US" ties are rising, according to Taiwan media on Monday. 

Shao Zong-hai, a former Taiwan politician and member of the KMT, and a scholar on cross-Straits relations, told the Global Times on Tuesday that all of these acts prove that the DPP authority has no sincerity and intention to seek a peaceful solution with the mainland over the Taiwan question, and insists on secessionism. So the mainland has to consider how to safeguard the national sovereignty of China and resolve the Taiwan question once and for all by force.

Huang Chih-hsien, an expert on Taiwan affairs and a TV commentator from the island, said that the public of Taiwan should be aware of the danger, and the selfish nature of the DPP and its politicians serves the interests of the US to contain the Chinese mainland. "Taiwan should become a part of the national rejuvenation of China, rather than a tool of US hegemony."



Warning and promise

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on Saturday at a gathering marking the 110th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution. He said that the Taiwan question arose out of the weakness and chaos of the Chinese nation, and will be resolved as national rejuvenation becomes a reality.

The role of Taiwan compatriots is significant but also limited in overthrowing the rule of secessionist authorities and proxies that serve foreign forces on the island. As in history, the people on the island have also failed to resist the foreign invasion, while the mainland had no strength to protect the island in the late Qing Dynasty. Without the strength and determination of the Chinese nation, the Taiwan question will not be resolved successfully, said a Beijing-based expert on Taiwan affairs who requested anonymity.

"To eventually resolve the Taiwan question, the power and determination of the Chinese people, especially the military might of the mainland, are essential," the expert said. 

Xi also warned the secessionists and foreign forces who intend to interfere in China's national reunification process. "Taiwan independence" secessionism is the biggest obstacle to national reunification, and a serious threat to national rejuvenation, he said.

Xi stressed that "Those who forget their heritage, betray their motherland, and seek to split the country will come to no good end," and "they will be disdained by the people and condemned by history." The Taiwan question is purely an internal matter for China, one which brooks no external interference, he noted.

The anonymous expert said that "The mainland's warning against secessionism is not just talking the talk, and whether the solution will be peaceful or not, the secessionists will be judged, condemned and punished. This is not just a warning, but also a serious promise from the Communist Party of China (CPC) to the Chinese nation."  

Li Fei, a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, said that the DPP politicians' recent provocative statements and acts reflect their last madness before their doom. "The mainland has already issued a sanction list of Taiwan secessionists, and this proves that the mainland will separate the secessionists and other political groups and ordinary people on the island. And no matter what kind of solution, peaceful or not, those sanctioned will be brought to justice."

Li stressed that the sanctioned secessionists are a very small group of extremists and vicious politicians and persons with major political influence and power in the islands who should be held accountable for the worsening situation in the Taiwan Straits, as they have poisoned the atmosphere of Taiwan society by creating hatred against the mainland and inciting extremism and secessionism to people on the island.

"The judgment and punishment will come to these extreme secessionists, not the vast majority of innocent Taiwan compatriots and ordinary people who get used or cheated by their lies and tricks. The blacklist is to separate the extreme secessionists from the Taiwan compatriots, since the DPP is trying to hijack ordinary people on the island as hostages to resist the reunification and seek secessionism," Li noted.

Rising anger

Xi's remarks about warning secessionists and foreign forces on Saturday have received rapturous applause from the audience, and a similar applause also happened in Tiananmen Square when he talked about similar topic during his speech to mark the 100th anniversary of the CPC's founding on July 1. 

Analysts said this proves that the Chinese public is eager to resolve the Taiwan question and punish secessionism, as the secessionist authorities on the island and foreign forces, especially the US, have seriously offended and provoked the Chinese public in the mainland. The anger has been raised to the highest level and continues to grow. This will make the future of the Taiwan Straits situation unlikely remain peaceful.

National reunification efforts by the Chinese mainland could be done peacefully, by force, or a mixture of both. The non-peaceful solution would include imposing a blockade, striking hostile targets on the island, attacking the peripheral islands, or landing on the island of Taiwan, said Zhang Wensheng, a deputy dean of the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University.

A cartoonist identified as "JeffHoly" on Sina Weibo released a series of drawings that illustrate the national reunification executed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Chinese social media, which received thousands of likes. 

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Tuesday, the author told the Global Times that he would update the series with the PLA Air Force and Rocket Force to illustrate all types of forces' battle scenarios. Many web users said "I hope this will come true as soon as possible."

Attack - one of the series drawings illustrates the national reunification executed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made by Chinese mainland cartoonist "JeffHoly." Picture: courtesy of JeffHoly

Hopeless resistance 

Yu, the military head on the island who went to the US to seek military supports recently, claimed that Taiwan's armed forces are eyeing an "asymmetric war" against the PLA as the Taiwan military head know that the Chinese mainland has an overwhelming military advantage over them, and they need to prove to the US that they have the courage to defend themselves and resist the reunification launched by the mainland.

While the Taiwan military does have a certain level of asymmetric warfare capability since it is on the defense, such plans are not enough to help it defeat the PLA because its weapons and equipment are inferior to those of the Chinese mainland, in terms of both quality and quantity, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The hardware Taiwan wants to use in asymmetric warfare, including artillery, aircraft, missiles and ships, would likely be destroyed by long-range precision strikes from the PLA, Wei said.

As the PLA has displayed its capabilities over the past year, Taiwan's defense authorities also began to realize the power gap between them and the PLA, as Yu said the PLA aircraft's frequent operations near the island of Taiwan and Taiwan-administered Dongsha Islands in the South China Sea are "threatening," and the PLA can break the first and second island chains and reach the third island chain.

Some defense scholars in Taiwan recently suggested that the island arm Dongsha Islands to counter PLA aircraft drills, but this would also be a futile attempt to resist reunification by force, analysts said.

Even if the islands are militarized, the PLA can still easily take over them when necessary, as the Taiwan military does not have air superiority and control of the sea, taihainet.com, a Chinese mainland news website on the Taiwan question, said on Tuesday.

As of press time, more than 150 PLA aircraft have held drills in Taiwan's self-proclaimed southwest air defense identification zone, between Taiwan island and the Dongsha Islands, since October. Many of them are advanced J-16 fighter jets and H-6 bombers, and experts said more will join similar exercises in the future.

During Airshow China 2021 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province from September 28 to October 3, the PLA Air Force for the first time displayed the J-16D aircraft, which was developed based on the multirole J-16 specifically for electronic warfare. This has drawn speculations on the island that some J-16s involved in exercises near Taiwan were of this type.

Citing defense scholars, Taiwan media recently said that the J-16D is not such a big deal and the Taiwan military has many ways to fight it.

In response, Wei said that the PLA's electronic warfare capability is superior to the Taiwan military's on all fronts, and with the J-16D, which can suppress and jam hostile radar, communications and command systems, the PLA can paralyze the Taiwan military, essentially making it "brain dead."

In a possible scenario widely predicted by many analysts, the PLA could start with electronic warfare, deafening and blinding the Taiwan military, then rain down long-range rockets and missiles, destroying most of Taiwan's weapons and equipment as well as command centers. 

This will be followed by air strikes led by stealth aircraft which will seize air superiority, and at the same time, warships, including aircraft carriers, will secure sea lanes for an amphibious assault and block the island from foreign intervention, according to military analysts. 

Heavily-armed troops will cross the Straits on landing ships, and eventually secure the island, they noted. 

The PLA Daily published a commentary on its front page on Tuesday titled "The historic mission of the complete reunification of the motherland must be realized." 

When that time comes, Taiwan secessionists will end up miserable and face the judgment of justice, Wei said.

The landing operation - one of the series drawings illustrates the national reunification executed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made by Chinese mainland cartoonist "JeffHoly." Picture: courtesy of JeffHoly

The airborne operation in Taiwan - one of the series drawings illustrates the national reunification executed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made by Chinese mainland cartoonist "JeffHoly." Picture: courtesy of JeffHoly

Destruction - one of the series drawings illustrates the national reunification executed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made by Chinese mainland cartoonist "JeffHoly." Picture: courtesy of JeffHoly