Former Chinese military general threatens to take over Taiwan in three days

"China can simultaneously organize six attack prongs including artillery, precision air strikes, coordinated air and sea landings, cyber warfare, special forces deployment and psychological warfare, to reclaim Taiwan island from the mainland in just three days,"Global Times, a subsidiary publication of People's Daily - the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party - quoted retired general Wang Hongguang as saying on March 30.

Lieutenant General Wang Hongguang was once deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region, now the Eastern Strategic Command, the closest place to China's island of Taiwan.

General Wang's tough statement has caused a stir in Taiwan, to the point that many newspapers supporting the unification solution with China on the island have also voiced their opposition.

"Beijing's efforts to win the hearts of Taiwanese will be nullified by such meaningless remarks. Any efforts by China will be counterproductive if it relies on generals like Mr. Wang, who know nothing but inciting war," the newspaper said.China Timesof Taiwan wrote in an editorial.

This is not the first time Mr. Wang has attracted attention with his threatening statements to Taiwan. On the sidelines of the Chinese parliament session in early 2017, he said "China will liberate Taiwan if the US deploys the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) on the island." The Chinese military later issued a statement calling on people not to interpret General Wang's statements.

Despite calling on the media not to exaggerate Mr. Vuong's statement,81.cn, a news site affiliated with the Chinese military,still asserted that "this general's words can be considered a warning", saying that war would break out if Taiwan declared independence.

In a 2016 Global Times article, Wang urged the Chinese navy to step up training to block the Taiwan Strait and map out the best routes for attack submarines. He also called on the Chinese air force to conduct airstrike drills near the median line that bisects the Taiwan Strait.

China has always considered Taiwan a part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. Cross-strait relations have cooled since independence-leaning leader Tsai Ing-wen took office in mid-2016.Tensions increased afterUS President Donald Trump recently signed the "Visit Taiwan Act", encouraging the US governmentsending senior officials to Taiwan and vice versa, angering Beijing.