Though it comes as Beijing has warned Washington against provocations over Taiwan, the post may be entirely innocuous – and refer to the upcoming anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army and a line from President Xi Jinping’s speech, according to the state outlet Global Times.
A message containing just two characters in Mandarin was posted on Friday on the Weibo page of the PLA’s 80th Group Army, headquartered in Weifang, Shandong province. It quickly generated over 300,000 positive reactions and nearly 20,000 comments, Russia Today reported.
The phrase could be translated as “prepare for war” or “ready to fight,” but Global Times said the correct translation was “Preparing for war!”
Xi has previously said that only those capable of fighting can stop battles from starting, and only those prepared for war don’t have to stumble into one, said the outlet, which is the English-language subsidiary of People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party of China.
The 80th Group Army provided an additional context in a comment, saying that “we must bear in mind the fundamental responsibility of preparing for war and charge on the journey of a strong army.”
RHM/PR
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