China: PLA releases animation on 'reunification' with Taiwan

On National Day, the Chinese military published an animated short film depicting the reunification of two portions of a scroll painting that were split in half more than 300 years earlier as a demonstration of its commitment to integrating Taiwan into the mainland. One of China’s most famous historical paintings, “The Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains,” is divided into pieces and kept in museums in China and Taiwan, the island with a democratic government that Beijing claims as one of its provinces and which it reserves the right to annex by force. The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command, notorious for its aggressive movies of military drills in Taiwan, issued an animated short film called “Dreams Come True on Fuchun River” on Sunday in honour of National Day, appealing to the common cultural heritage on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The movie had two elves that stood in for the two fragments of the Huang Gongwang painting, which was torn to pieces in the 17th century by one of its owners. At the conclusion of the film, the two protagonists united and miraculously repaired the painting. The Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou is home to the smaller portion of the scroll, dubbed “The Remaining Mountain,” which is roughly 51 cm long. The 640-cm-long “Master Wuyong Scroll” has been held by Taiwan’s National Palace Museum since the 1950s. When China loaned its portion to the Taiwanese museum for two months in 2011 during a time of improved ties as Taiwan adopted a policy of economic rapprochement with China, the two pieces were finally put back together. However, as ties have soured in recent years, China has increased military exercises near Taiwan, including one last month that Beijing claimed was aimed at fighting separatist troops. On both sides of the Taiwan Strait, China is simultaneously developing ambitious plans to “integrate” the economies of its Fujian province and Taiwan. Taiwan’s government has rejected these plans, which offer Taiwan enterprises the possibility to participate in joint development. The threat of annexing Taiwan by force is constant, notwithstanding China’s eagerness to court Taiwan with promises of economic benefits. The Eastern Theatre Command added footage of J-20 fighter jet formations and aircraft carriers throughout the two elves’ voyage in the movie to serve as a visual reminder of its battlefront. (With agency inputs)