China’s state broadcaster CCTV has kicked off the airing an eight-episode military documentary series called Zhu Meng, or “Chasing Dreams”, which features battle-ready Chinese troops pledging to sacrifice all, even themselves, for the sake of ‘liberating’ Taiwan.
The series marks the 96th anniversary of the founding of People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and seeks to highlight that Chinese forces are ready to fight “at any second”. It additionally sends a signal to Taiwan’s Western backers, including the United States, of how seriously Beijing will take any future provocation.
Among the many examples of over-the-top vows to go on suicide missions if need be, include a stealth J-20 pilot describing that “My fighter would be my last missile, rushing towards the enemy if in a real battle I had used up all my ammunition.”
In another scene, a frogman of the PLA Navy’s minesweeper unit tells the viewing audience, “If war broke out and the conditions were too difficult to safely remove the naval mines in actual combat, we will use our own bodies to clear a safe pathway for our landing forces.”