Tensions Rise in the Taiwan Strait! The Wall Street Journal Reports on China’s Five Moves to Block Taiwan; Missile Bombardment, Submarine Cable Disruption, Maritime Patrol, with the Chinese Military Actively Preparing for a Decade! Fierce Power Struggle in Zhongnanhai, Xi’s Confidant Miao Hua Arrested, Rumors of He Weidong and Lin Xiangyang Also Detained, Top Chinese Army Officials Collapse, Military Morale in Turmoil! Under the great purge, who can Xi rely on to attack Taiwan? With high-ranking officials crumbling before the battle commences, how will this war be fought?
Recent news reports on the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait have been continuous. Recently, The Wall Street Journal published an article mentioning China’s military has five ways to block Taiwan, such as missile strikes, cutting off undersea cables, and deploying a massive maritime law enforcement fleet. From a military perspective, in the past decade, China’s army has indeed been actively preparing, enhancing its military strength. However, attacking Taiwan is not just a military decision but also a political one. On the political front, China’s top military leadership has been far from stable. Up to now, senior leaders close to Xi Jinping have been completely purged. In such a situation, attacking Taiwan becomes an almost impossible task.
Xi Jinping spent over ten years in Fujian, residing in Xiamen, Ningde, and Fuzhou. The 31st Army stationed in Fujian later became the 31st Group Army, renamed as the 73rd Group Army during the military reform in 2017, stationed in Xiamen, Fujian, renowned as a frontline force for Taiwan operations.
At that time, as a local leader in Fujian, Xi Jinping had a particular personal relationship with former 31st Army officers. After assuming the position of China’s top leader, Xi faced a challenge that the military was mostly composed of individuals from the Jiang faction — the two Vice Chairmen of the Military Commission, Guo Boxiong, and Xu Caihou, controlled the army, all affiliated with Jiang Zemin. Xi needed to regain control of the military and place his loyalists in key positions.
During Xi Jinping’s first term from 2012 to 2017, he primarily purged Jiang’s military personnel, such as Vice Chairmen Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, investigated around 2014, and Director of the Central Military Commission’s political department, Zhang Yang, investigated in 2017 and later reportedly committed suicide at home.
After cleaning out the Jiang faction, those promoted were mostly from Xi’s own circle, primarily from the former 31st Army, such as Miao Hua, Vice Chairman of the Military Commission He Weidong, and the current Commander-in-Chief of the Rocket Army Wang Houbin, and Eastern Theater Commander Lin Xiangyang. Looking at Miao Hua, in 2014, Xi Jinping appointed him to serve as the Navy’s political commissar.
The recent article focused on the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, mentioned the five moves China’s military might use to attempt to block Taiwan, one of them being missile bombing. Furthermore, it discussed the political instability at the highest levels of the Chinese military.
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