Sinification

Sinification

Share this post

Sinification
Sinification
Yan Anlin on the Drawbacks of a Timetable for Taiwan
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Yan Anlin on the Drawbacks of a Timetable for Taiwan

"It is likely to take another 5 to 10 years to achieve full reunification, as we are still in a phase of quantitative change, rather than having reached a qualitative shift."

Thomas des Garets Geddes's avatar
Thomas des Garets Geddes
Apr 28, 2025
∙ Paid
14

Share this post

Sinification
Sinification
Yan Anlin on the Drawbacks of a Timetable for Taiwan
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
7
Share

Yan Anlin (严安林) ranks among China’s foremost Taiwan experts. As he likes to note himself, he was the first person in mainland China to earn a Ph.D. in Taiwan studies, has been regularly consulted by Beijing for policy advice and served as a close aide to Wang Daohan (汪道涵)—Beijing’s representative during the landmark 1993 cross-Strait talks.

Yan is also highly adept at addressing both domestic and international audiences. Given his background and connections, it is hard to imagine his granting any “tell-all” interview on Taiwan that would stray from messaging closely aligned with the PRC’s interests. His latest paper—Research on Discourse Construction and Practical Strategies for International Communication Concerning Taiwan-related Issues, published last December—demonstrates as much.

Far from making Yan’s insights worthless, this is simply a reminder that much—though by no means all—of what he says in public is probably subject to careful calibration. One could argue the same of most…

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Thomas des Garets Geddes
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More