The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has full capacity and unwavering will to defend national sovereignty and smash any Taiwan separatist forces, said Zhang Xiaogang, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
Zhang made the statement in response to a media query about U.S. media reports saying that the PLA will "attack" Taiwan in three steps, while claiming a so-called "optimal time" and "optimal landing sites" for the so-called attack.
"Certain media outlets have racked their brains to speculate on the PLA's maneuvers and sell war anxiety with treacherous intent, which will only undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair which brooks no external interference. We are willing to strive for peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and the greatest effort, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary. In case Taiwan separatist forces make provocations and coercions, and even cross the red lines, we will have no choice but take decisive measures. The PLA is always ready to battle, capable of combat and sure to win, resolutely smashing attempts of Taiwan separatist forces and external interference," said Zhang.
PLA fully capable of smashing Taiwan separatist forces: spokesman
China's 5G user penetration rate surged from 15 percent to 83.9 percent during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), an official from the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission said on Thursday.
Wen Ruisong, head of the Informatization Development Bureau under the office, said that over the past five years, China has accelerated the construction of intelligent and integrated information infrastructure, establishing the world's largest and most technologically advanced fiber-optic broadband and mobile communication network.
"During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's 5G user penetration rate rose from 15 percent to 83.9 percent, gigabit broadband users increased from 6.4 million to 239 million, and mobile Internet of Things users expanded from 1.136 billion to 2.9 billion. This progress marks a clear acceleration in the shift from 'internet of everything' toward 'intelligent connection of everything," said Wen.
According to Wen, China's network infrastructure has been continuously enhanced, with the number of active IPv6 users growing from 462 million to 868 million over the five years.
Meanwhile, the quality and scale of China's computing infrastructure have also seen significant improvement.
China now operates 12.5 million standard racks in active computing power centers, with intelligent computing capacity reaching 1,053 EFLOPS, Wen said.
China's 5G user penetration rate surges to 83.9 pct
