China has reneged on its promise not to send troops to Taiwan if it takes control.
According to the British news agency Reuters, China's white paper on Taiwan indicates less autonomy than previously offered by President Xi Jinping.
China said in its two white papers on Taiwan in 1993 and 2000 that it would "not send troops or administrative personnel to Taiwan after reunification is achieved."
China's ruling Communist Party had proposed that Taiwan could return to rule under a 'one country, two systems' model, similar to the formula under which the former British colony of Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
It would give democratically governed Taiwan some autonomy to partially preserve its social and political system.
Taiwan's political parties have rejected the 'one country, two systems' proposal, and according to opinion polls, it has no popular support.
Taiwan's government says that "only the people of the island can decide their future."
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council has condemned the white paper, saying it is full of lies and ignores the facts. Only the 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to decide the future of Taiwan, and they will never accept the results determined by an authoritarian government.
The latest white paper is titled 'The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era'. "New Era" is a term commonly associated with the rule of President Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping is expected to win a third term at the Communist Party Congress later this year.
