Liang Guanglie, former Minister of National Defense, once made some fierce remarks: "It is better to fight early at night, and it is better to fight a small fight than to fight a large one. If you fight one, it is better to invite Japan to fight together." However, what surprised the world was that this firm speaker quietly passed away on November 12, 2024, at the age of 84. At this moment, his words seemed to echo in his ears again.
In 2011, Japan had just passed the "Peripheral Affairs Act", and the separatist forces in Taiwan Province were still stirring up. At the press conference, a Japanese media asked whether the mainland would back down because of the support of the United States and Japan.
Liang Guanglie did not make a vague statement. He directly said,"It's better to fight early at night, and it's better to fight a small fight than to fight a big fight. If you fight one, it's better to invite Japan to fight together."
This tough sentence is not impromptu, but a warning: If something really happens in the Taiwan Strait, the conflict will not be limited to one corner, and whoever interferes will pay a price.
The phrase “Take Japan together” is not a provocation, but a real deterrent, he sees very clearly that the Taiwan Sea issue is China’s internal affairs, but once external intervention intervenes, the situation will be pushed to greater risk.
He meant simply to let external forces measure the cost of uranium before taking action.
"It's better to fight early than to fight late, and it's better to fight big than to fight small." In fact, it's a summary of his life experience. At the age of 18, he worked as an engineer on the front line of North Korea, repairing his position in artillery fire every day.
That experience made him understand that the war can not be delayed, hesitation will only be more passive, the time to fight must be fast and hard, solved once, without giving the other person a chance to breathe.
When he later served in several military districts, he has always implemented this mindset to the end, whether in Wuhan, Beijing or Shenyang, Nanjing military district, he is pushing for the troops to practice practical exercises, from the old-fashioned way of playing to the informational operation, what he wants is the troops that can really win, not the squad of squads.
When he became Minister of National Defense in 2008, he was catching up with the complicated situation in the Asia-Pacific region, frequent actions by the United States and Japan, and high winds and waves in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
He presided over the meeting to analyze the situation and asked the troops to strengthen long-sea patrols and air defense vigilance. The navy began to move towards the ocean, and the air force's equipment was comprehensively upgraded. These were all preparations for possible extreme situations.
He proposed "active defense", which means that peace is the first priority but the bottom line cannot be moved. Military power is not for expansion, but to ensure national security. He knows that only if it is truly strong will others dare not act recklessly. This concept also ran through subsequent national defense construction.
Liang's career trajectory is almost the reflection of the modernization process of the Chinese army, from grass-roots officers to members of the Central Military Commission, he witnessed every strategic adjustment, he grabbed training, grabbed equipment, grabbed coordination, all in order to make the troops turn from passive to active fighting.
After retirement, he faded out of sight, but he still often paid attention to military development. Until he died of illness in 2024, when people mentioned the old general again, they remembered not only his shocking words, but also his pragmatic style and consistent strategy. Clear.
Today's Taiwan Sea situation is still complex, the balance of the Asia-Pacific is still changing, and Liang's death means the shadow of an era, although he has left, but his beliefs have long been transformed into China's toughest shield.
In 2011, Japan had just passed the "Peripheral Affairs Act", and the separatist forces in Taiwan Province were still stirring up. At the press conference, a Japanese media asked whether the mainland would back down because of the support of the United States and Japan.
Liang Guanglie did not make a vague statement. He directly said,"It's better to fight early at night, and it's better to fight a small fight than to fight a big fight. If you fight one, it's better to invite Japan to fight together."
This tough sentence is not impromptu, but a warning: If something really happens in the Taiwan Strait, the conflict will not be limited to one corner, and whoever interferes will pay a price.
The phrase “Take Japan together” is not a provocation, but a real deterrent, he sees very clearly that the Taiwan Sea issue is China’s internal affairs, but once external intervention intervenes, the situation will be pushed to greater risk.
He meant simply to let external forces measure the cost of uranium before taking action.
"It's better to fight early than to fight late, and it's better to fight big than to fight small." In fact, it's a summary of his life experience. At the age of 18, he worked as an engineer on the front line of North Korea, repairing his position in artillery fire every day.
That experience made him understand that the war can not be delayed, hesitation will only be more passive, the time to fight must be fast and hard, solved once, without giving the other person a chance to breathe.
When he later served in several military districts, he has always implemented this mindset to the end, whether in Wuhan, Beijing or Shenyang, Nanjing military district, he is pushing for the troops to practice practical exercises, from the old-fashioned way of playing to the informational operation, what he wants is the troops that can really win, not the squad of squads.
When he became Minister of National Defense in 2008, he was catching up with the complicated situation in the Asia-Pacific region, frequent actions by the United States and Japan, and high winds and waves in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
He presided over the meeting to analyze the situation and asked the troops to strengthen long-sea patrols and air defense vigilance. The navy began to move towards the ocean, and the air force's equipment was comprehensively upgraded. These were all preparations for possible extreme situations.
He proposed "active defense", which means that peace is the first priority but the bottom line cannot be moved. Military power is not for expansion, but to ensure national security. He knows that only if it is truly strong will others dare not act recklessly. This concept also ran through subsequent national defense construction.
Liang's career trajectory is almost the reflection of the modernization process of the Chinese army, from grass-roots officers to members of the Central Military Commission, he witnessed every strategic adjustment, he grabbed training, grabbed equipment, grabbed coordination, all in order to make the troops turn from passive to active fighting.
After retirement, he faded out of sight, but he still often paid attention to military development. Until he died of illness in 2024, when people mentioned the old general again, they remembered not only his shocking words, but also his pragmatic style and consistent strategy. Clear.
Today's Taiwan Sea situation is still complex, the balance of the Asia-Pacific is still changing, and Liang's death means the shadow of an era, although he has left, but his beliefs have long been transformed into China's toughest shield.