A Chinese professor became nationally renowned in his country virtually overnight and among Chinese communities around the world after he took to social media recently to say that Beijing ought to deploy more nuclear weapons as a counter to U.S. actions.
According to his verified profile on a Twitter-like social media platform known as Sina Weibo, Zhao Shengye is a professor at the Shenyang Institute of Technology and has in excess of 3 million followers — making virtually anything he posts go viral.
The Trump administration in recent months has taken tougher action against Beijing on multiple fronts, including Chinese tech companies posing security threats and firms involved in Beijing’s militarization of the South China Sea.
On Sept. 12, Zhao posted: “if [U.S. President Donald] Trump is bent on fighting against China…even intervening in a future war to liberate Taiwan, the ultimate result of Trump’s actions will be the destruction of all mankind.” Zhao’s rhetoric on Taiwan—a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as part of its territory, despite Taiwan having all the features of a nation-state—matches Beijing’s recent aggression, such as intruding on the island’s airspace. The United States has consistently condemned Beijing’s threats on Taiwan and is the island’s main arms supplier.
Specifically, he outlined three ways in which China could attempt to destroy the U.S. (and the rest of the world) with nuclear weapons:
— Detonate a nuclear sub that is loaded with nuclear weapons in the Pacific Ocean so that the shock waves exceed 2,000 meters and submerge surrounding areas;
— Setting off thousands of nuclear bombs in the Himalayan Mountains all at once to change the orbit of the planet;
— Drill 10,000 meters deep in the Sichuan basin and plant thousands of nuclear weapons and then detonate them all at once, theoretically collapsing the earth’s core and wreaking global extermination.
His outrageous suggestions were panned by netizens, including Kantie, an online Chinese-language media outlet, which argued that Zhao represented the Chinese regime’s authoritarian mentality of, “if I cannot survive, no one else shall be allowed to survive.”
About 10 hours later, his highly controversial post was deleted from the platform, however. Still, it was chilling.
The U.S. is treaty-bound to help Taiwan defend itself. And more than any recent president, President Trump has been keen to assist Taipei with its defense needs.
In fact, just this month the Trump administration was preparing a major arms sales package for Taiwan, as CNN reported.
According to a congressional aide, the Trump administration is preparing seven weapons packages, including a large sale of MQ-9B Reaper drones. (Related: Trump admin orders Chinese embassy closed immediately amid charges of privacy violations and theft of intellectual property.)
“As a matter of policy we do not comment on or confirm proposed defense sales or transfers until they have been formally notified to Congress,” said a State Department official.
Previously, the Trump administration had approved a number of major arms deals with Taiwan totaling more than $13 billion. Weapons sold include scores of upgraded F-16 fighters, M1A2 Abrams tanks, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and MK-48 Mod6 torpedoes.
“I would like to thank the US government for supporting the enhancement of Taiwan's self defense capabilities. In the past four years the Trump administration has approved seven arms sales package to Taiwan totaling $13.2 billion, looking ahead we will further develop and bolster indigenous defense and asymmetrical warfare capabilities," Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Tuesday during a virtual address to the Global Taiwan Institute Annual Symposium in Washington.
“Confronted with the Chinese communist regime, Taiwan is on the frontlines defending democracies,” he added.
As for Zhao, he (and the Chinese government, which controls all social media communications) wanted his message to get a wide audience because he posted it in English.
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