Academics at China’s Xiamen University in Fujian have outlined what they see as the path toward reshaping Taiwan in Beijing’s image after a forced unification with the island democracy.
The authors also call for a “shadow government” to be organized beforehand to ensure “regime change” goes smoothly.
The document, which doesn’t list the authors’ names, has been shared online by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank after being pulled from Chinese social media, where it was first posted.
China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has vowed to unite with it, by force if necessary, though Beijing’s Chinese Communist Party government has never ruled on the island. In recent years China has dialed up military activity in waters near Taiwan to pressure its neighbor, including a series of major military drills launched after the inauguration of Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te in May.