According to People News, on October 14, after the People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a high-profile military drill surrounding Taiwan with the theme "Order Received, Open Fire," the next day, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Xi Jinping, traveled to Fujian, across the strait from Taiwan, for an "inspection." Many believed that the CCP was sending Xi to intimidate Taiwan once again. However, instead of overt threats, the CCP appeared to soften its stance and attempt to placate Taiwan, though, in reality, as revealed by the Taiwan Affairs Office, the intent was to sow discord.

According to major state media outlets like Xinhua News, during Xi's visit from October 15 to 16, he emphasized the importance of following through with the "blueprint" for Fujian's development, urging the region to focus on "building a more flexible mechanism, optimizing industries, and enhancing the beauty of the environment, while playing a bigger role in serving and integrating into the new development framework." But what exactly does this blueprint entail? Xi provided the answer: "Taking bigger steps in exploring new paths for cross-strait integration and sticking firmly to the goals."

State media also reported that Xi visited places like Zhangzhou and Xiamen, stopping at revolutionary education sites, cultural preservation units, and free trade zones. Clearly, the narrative from the party media was that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were originally on good terms, and now efforts should be made to foster even greater integration, with new paths for development.

What are these "new paths"?

Many thought that the CCP was trying a combination of military intimidation and political outreach—if threats don’t work, it would resort to united front tactics to ease global hostility. However, the stance of the Chinese military does not align with this approach. According to information from the Ministry of Defense, the military seems to be defying Xi's efforts, showing hostility toward Taiwan and performing a completely different act.

First, the Eastern Theater Command accidentally revealed its true intentions. On the afternoon of October 15, Wu Qian, Director of the Ministry of National Defense’s News Bureau and its spokesperson, announced that, at the invitation of China's (PRC) Ministry of National Defense, over 60 military attachés from countries including Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Jordan, the UK, Kazakhstan, Canada, and Argentina were visiting the Eastern Theater Command from October 14 to 19. They were given an in-depth understanding of China's (PRC’s) modernization and the achievements of the PLA, with the goal of promoting military cooperation between China and these nations.

In other words, on the very day the PLA was conducting military drills around Taiwan, the Ministry of Defense invited representatives from these countries to witness the show of force firsthand, flaunting the CCP’s military might in front of foreign audiences. Even if military secrets were exposed, the primary goal was to make foreigners marvel at "the great power of the CCP."

Meanwhile, the Taiwan Affairs Office, in coordination with the military, reiterated that there would be no promise to renounce the use of force against Taiwan. However, spokesperson Chen Binhua inadvertently revealed the CCP’s true strategy of combining military intimidation with political tactics to sow division. During a routine press conference yesterday, Chen stated that the (use of force) policy was aimed at "external forces" and a small minority of "Taiwan independence" separatists, not the majority of the Taiwanese people. In other words, the Taiwan Affairs Office employed a typical CCP political tactic often used within China—win over the majority while targeting a small group.

Chen Binhua also repeatedly and "affectionately" referred to the Taiwanese people as "compatriots," saying: "We hope that the vast majority of Taiwanese compatriots will open their eyes and see through the 'Taiwan independence' forces... and consciously draw a clear line between themselves and the 'stubborn Taiwan independence elements' while working with mainland compatriots to promote cross-strait exchanges, cooperation, and integrated development."

Here, Chen Binhua may have inadvertently revealed Xi Jinping’s true intent behind his visit to Fujian: to drive a wedge between the Taiwanese public and their government officials. His use of phrases from the Cultural Revolution made it clear: Taiwanese compatriots should pursue integration and development with mainland compatriots.