on, “including India, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam,
Mongolia, and threats against our Communist brothers in North Korea; and three
critical regions belonging to China since the dawn of recorded history: Senkaku
Dao, taken from us by Japan in World War Two; Nansha Dao, taken from us by
European imperialists and by Asian anarchists and dictators using Western
governments as their puppets; and Formosa Dao, taken from us by the
Nationalists and now protected by the United States. The Party’s stated goal is
simple, comrades: The twenty-third Chinese province of Taiwan will be ours once again. The Party demands
that our attack plan against Taiwan be activated.”
The
ministers and generals nodded dutifully, but Jiang was surprised to hear
applause from the commission! Rising to his feet while continuing to applaud
his president’s words was Admiral Sun Ji Guoming, the first deputy chief of the
general staff and General Chin’s expected successor. Moments later, other
generals followed Sun’s lead, rising and applauding, and even some of the aged
ministers clapped, their soft, withered hands making virtually no sound. It was
unheard of, totally out of character for a Chinese to express himself so
openly, especially a military officer.
“You
dishonor yourself by such a pretentious and disrespectful display, Comrade
Sun,” General Chin, the chief of staff, said in a low, croaking voice. “Be
seated.”
Sun
bowed to both Chin and Jiang. “Forgive me, comrades,” Sun said, without being
given permission to speak. “But I welcome the Paramount Leader’s words with
great joy. I meant no disrespect.” He quickly dropped back into his seat and
apologetically averted his eyes—but only for a moment.
“Comrade
Sun’s enthusiasm is shared by us all, Comrade Jiang,” General Chin said, after
giving Sun a deadly stern warning glance. “Implementing the Party’s wishes will
be a challenging but ultimately victorious task. I urge the Central Military
Commission to order the aircraft carrier Mao
Zedong and its new battle group into position to take Que- moy immediately,
so the Taiwanese Nationalists cannot use them as staging or observation bases
against us,” Chin said. Quemoy was
a large Taiwanese-occupied island just a mile from the Chinese mainland, used
as an observation outpost and tourist destination. “We can blockade the island
with ease with our task force, cut off their supplies, and starve them into
submission. The task force can land five thousand troops on Quemoy right away, and we can eventually move
three thousand troops a day onto the island. In two weeks, we can retake the
island and claim it.”
Jiang
was surprised at Chin’s comments—he expected resistance from the People’s
Liberation Army. Bloated, gargantuan, hopelessly encrusted and weighed down
with decades’ worth of nameless bureaucrats, the military seemed to require a
full ten years of preparation before embarking on the simplest program or
operation. Under Deng Xiaoping, Jiang’s predecessor, the People’s Liberation
Army had been reduced in size by one-fourth and the militias reduced by almost
half, but there were still over three million active-duty troops in China and over two hundred million men and women that could be mobilized for
military service.
The
centuries-old “sea of humanity” concept of warfighting was being replaced by
modern ideas, but it would take several generations to eliminate the old
ways—and the old inertia. Chin Po Zihong was a daring leader who truly believed China was destined to rule Asia , but he was not the best tactician. It was
Chin who had tried to form an alliance with a socialist government faction in
the Philippines ; it was Chin who had devised the current
alliance among China , North Korea , and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although
both programs had ended in
Mongolia, and threats against our Communist brothers in North Korea; and three
critical regions belonging to China since the dawn of recorded history: Senkaku
Dao, taken from us by Japan in World War Two; Nansha Dao, taken from us by
European imperialists and by Asian anarchists and dictators using Western
governments as their puppets; and Formosa Dao, taken from us by the
Nationalists and now protected by the United States. The Party’s stated goal is
simple, comrades: The twenty-third Chinese province of Taiwan will be ours once again. The Party demands
that our attack plan against Taiwan be activated.”
The
ministers and generals nodded dutifully, but Jiang was surprised to hear
applause from the commission! Rising to his feet while continuing to applaud
his president’s words was Admiral Sun Ji Guoming, the first deputy chief of the
general staff and General Chin’s expected successor. Moments later, other
generals followed Sun’s lead, rising and applauding, and even some of the aged
ministers clapped, their soft, withered hands making virtually no sound. It was
unheard of, totally out of character for a Chinese to express himself so
openly, especially a military officer.
“You
dishonor yourself by such a pretentious and disrespectful display, Comrade
Sun,” General Chin, the chief of staff, said in a low, croaking voice. “Be
seated.”
Sun
bowed to both Chin and Jiang. “Forgive me, comrades,” Sun said, without being
given permission to speak. “But I welcome the Paramount Leader’s words with
great joy. I meant no disrespect.” He quickly dropped back into his seat and
apologetically averted his eyes—but only for a moment.
“Comrade
Sun’s enthusiasm is shared by us all, Comrade Jiang,” General Chin said, after
giving Sun a deadly stern warning glance. “Implementing the Party’s wishes will
be a challenging but ultimately victorious task. I urge the Central Military
Commission to order the aircraft carrier Mao
Zedong and its new battle group into position to take Que- moy immediately,
so the Taiwanese Nationalists cannot use them as staging or observation bases
against us,” Chin said. Quemoy was
a large Taiwanese-occupied island just a mile from the Chinese mainland, used
as an observation outpost and tourist destination. “We can blockade the island
with ease with our task force, cut off their supplies, and starve them into
submission. The task force can land five thousand troops on Quemoy right away, and we can eventually move
three thousand troops a day onto the island. In two weeks, we can retake the
island and claim it.”
Jiang
was surprised at Chin’s comments—he expected resistance from the People’s
Liberation Army. Bloated, gargantuan, hopelessly encrusted and weighed down
with decades’ worth of nameless bureaucrats, the military seemed to require a
full ten years of preparation before embarking on the simplest program or
operation. Under Deng Xiaoping, Jiang’s predecessor, the People’s Liberation
Army had been reduced in size by one-fourth and the militias reduced by almost
half, but there were still over three million active-duty troops in China and over two hundred million men and women that could be mobilized for
military service.
The
centuries-old “sea of humanity” concept of warfighting was being replaced by
modern ideas, but it would take several generations to eliminate the old
ways—and the old inertia. Chin Po Zihong was a daring leader who truly believed China was destined to rule Asia , but he was not the best tactician. It was
Chin who had tried to form an alliance with a socialist government faction in
the Philippines ; it was Chin who had devised the current
alliance among China , North Korea , and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although
both programs had ended in
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