“Colonel Chu,” the political officer stammered, “I have some bad news for you.”
“Come in, close the door,” Chu’s mind whipped wildly around behind a placid exterior. He suppressed an urge to ask, Is it my father?
“Colonel Chu, your father was arrested and executed for murdering the head of the Communist Party in Lipu County. Your mother and every adult in your village is being held on suspicion of sedition and on the unlawful practice of religion. Your uncle remains free. He is a true patriot. He turned in your father after your father murdered the Party official. Your uncle also vouched for you saying you had no foreknowledge of this heinous crime and that you are no Christian.” The political officer looked down and waited for Chu to absorb this.
The full weight of the man’s words were sinking into Chu’s rapidly numbing mind. First the Party kills my twin sister, then the Party steals the fruit of my father’s labor, then the Party takes my father’s life, and imprisons my mother and my entire village.
“Colonel Chu,” this was obviously a painful moment for the true-believer political officer, “The Party only asks one thing of you. One thing to be certain of your reliability: that you renounce this Christian religion…”
Chu looked up sharply and regarded the political officer as a bothersome insect.
He stammered on, “…that is, if you practice it. In return, if you perform well on your upcoming mission, the Party may see its way to showing clemency on your mother.”
Chu dismissed the thought of his being a practitioner of an alien religion with the wave of his hand, “I’m no Christian, comrade, you can tell Chairman Han himself if you wish. It is also unfortunate about my mother. However, I am sure she had no part in this crime — she is no counterrevolutionary. My father was a hothead — what he did, he did on his own. Comrade, you mentioned a mission…” Chu wanted desperately to change the subject to something he could master. A military operation would focus his energies and could, as the political officer hinted, provide him with the means to save his mother.
At the Chu’s mention of the word “mission” the young political officer’s face went pale, “Oh my, you weren’t supposed to be told… I mean…” The Party’s military representative collapsed in a heap on a chair.
Chu’s mind zeroed in on extracting the information he wanted out of this poor excuse for a man. “Huang Enlai, I already know we have an important mission; one that all China depends on for us to execute with valor and honor—you, you only need to provide the details my friend.” Chu almost gagged at using the term “friend”, but these were extraordinary times.
Huang looked around conspiratorially and lowered his voice to a whisper, “You must promise not to tell anyone that I told you.”
Chu whispered back, “When were we to be told about the mission?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
Chu suppressed a roll of his eyeballs, this man was worried about 12 hours. He resented the fact that this wretch stole half a day of prep time from his battalion of brave commandos. He pulled close to the contemptible creature and said, “Tell me now before I decide to assign you as lead man in the assault.”
Huang’s eyes bugged out and he began stammering again, “Jia… Jia Battalion is… is to fly to Hong Kong tomorrow evening. From there… once there… we will fly to Taiwan to seize Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport. We will be a diversion… China will attack Quemoy Island minutes after our assault. We will be heroes… Heroes of all China!”
And most assuredly dead heroes. No wonder why the dogs offered my mother mercy in exchange for my valor in this upcoming suicide mission. Once I’m dead, they can safely do what they wish to her without fear of embittering one of their most reliable assassins.
Chu smiled grimly at the pock-faced Huang, “Yes Enlai, we will be heroes.”
Donna turned back to her memo. She was putting the finishing touches on a memo entitled, “Chinese Actions Towards Taiwan Signal a New, Dangerous Phase In Cross-Straits Relations.” The memo cited several disturbing trends of recent Chinese behavior: increased naval maneuvers off the coast of Quemoy, an increased level of military preparedness in the Nanjing Military Region, additional PLA formations being moved into position opposite Quemoy and Matsu, a large build-up in short range ballistic missiles and artillery, and an unusual amount of military activity continuing after Taiwan’s presidential elections last March.
She concluded her missive:
China’s continued military build-up opposite Taiwan appears to be for political reasons, both domestic and international. Domestically, the build-up plays to the increasing nationalism China’s leadership is fostering in the wake of continued economic turbulence. Internationally, China’s actions are slowly building the case that China regards Taiwan as its own and will pursue whatever means required to recover the territory.
While a Chinese attack on Taiwan remains unlikely in the near future due to the lack of sufficient amphibious assault capacity and the vulnerability of an attack to Taiwan’s air force and anti-ship missile capacity, an enumeration of China’s relative advantages and disadvantages would be useful in viewing China’s current actions:
China has the following advantages:
1) Any attack would likely achieve tactical surprise.
2) Hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles are now in place. These could be used to attack airfields and command, control and communications nodes to degrade Taiwan’s defensive capabilities.
3) Much of China’s fleet has been concentrated within one day’s steaming time from Taiwan. China would have naval superiority, enabling China to effectively blockade Taiwan.
China has the following disadvantages:
1) Their amphibious capability is modest and not regarded as well-trained. At most, China could assault the offshore islands of Quemoy and Matsu with any real assurance of success.
2) China’s build-up has placed Taiwan’s armed forces on higher alert. Taiwan has moved to reinforce the offshore islands, making their successful capture more difficult.
3) China must continue to regard U.S. intervention on behalf of Taiwan as a very real possibility. This complicates planning significantly for any invasion or blockade.
Donna reviewed her report. The conclusion was weak and didn’t live up to the memo’s heading. The memo also didn’t come close to expressing her beliefs about China’s likely aggression. Time to think. She decided that a fresh cup of coffee was the proper medicine and pushed away from her desk.
Walking the 50 feet over to where her section kept the coffee pot was usually a therapeutic interlude for Donna. With the hours she kept, coffee was Donna’s friend. Walking to get coffee was her excuse to think creatively. It wasn’t much, but then, Donna didn’t need much to spark her analytical capabilities.
What if China were to strike Taiwan? What would they gain by such an attack? How would they do it? Why the continuing military build-up and quickening operational tempo if not to attack? The Taiwanese are taking more precautions than normal — clearly they’re worried. Yet, the Administration denies anything is amiss. Everyone at the top says China has too much to lose if they attack…