The People’s Republic of China (PRC) demonstrated a low-effort propaganda campaign regarding Taiwan’s military exercises from 9-18 July, likely to minimize public attention to Taiwan’s defense preparations. This low effort was evident with only 19 posts outside China and 54 government-affiliated posts on Weibo (generating 2,801 interactions) from 8-10 July. PRC propagandists portrayed the exercises as futile and dismissed Taiwan’s military as “nothing but bluffing,” emphasizing China’s superior power and regional stability. Analyst comments suggest Beijing’s primary objectives were to project strength against Taiwan and portray Taiwan to global audiences as a provocateur, while also aiming to limit domestic attention to the exercises, which could inadvertently highlight Taiwan’s strengthening defense capabilities.
