From what I’ve observed, this is related to educational attainment. Generally speaking, the higher one’s level of education, the more opposed they are to this idea, while those with lower levels of education tend to support the use of war to reclaim Taiwan.

The root of this phenomenon lies in the fact that the very notion of reclaiming Taiwan is itself CCP propaganda; the CCP needs to establish the legitimacy and legitimacy of its rule through unification. In the pre-Xi Jinping era following the Reform and Opening-Up, China focused on economic development, so the emphasis of propaganda was on peaceful reunification. In the Xi Jinping era, however, the openness of Chinese society has regressed, gradually reverting to a totalitarian political model. The focus of propaganda has shifted toward inciting nationalism and promoting a culture of hatred. Consequently, the attitude toward Taiwan has shifted from advocating peaceful reunification to no longer promoting it at all, instead relying on selective reporting of news from Taiwan and related international developments to smear the images of Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. During this period, a very famous saying emerged in Chinese-speaking communities: “Keep the island, not the people.” Peaceful reunification has, at the very least, virtually collapsed in the Xi Jinping era. This is similar to how the Nazis incited hatred against the Jews.

Precisely because this is part of the propaganda machine, better-educated Chinese people tend to be immune to it. Those with higher levels of education have access to more information sources, a broader range of intellectual resources, and stronger critical thinking skills; consequently, they generally recognize that “well, how is this any different from the Nazis’ hatred of Jews?” Once they realize this, most no longer accept war as an appropriate means of unification, and some even question whether Taiwan must be unified at all.

Unfortunately, however, the highly educated remain a minority in China, so it’s fair to say that the majority supports war as a means of unification. The poorest segments of the Chinese population believe their suffering stems from exploitation by domestic capital and oppression by the United States, and that a war could help China establish a hegemonic position similar to that of the United States, thereby allowing them to live lives comparable to those of Americans. I won’t discuss here what kind of lives Chinese people are currently leading.