Most of the scenarios are either exercises in creative political science or plain scare-mongering. After all, China has amassed 5,000 combat planes and 55 warships and has 2.9 million people in uniform. Military analysts say no. On Taiwan, analysts recognize their military is dwarfed by Big Brother's. Certainly China has muscle, but much of it is pretty old, like its flock of 3,000 MiG-19s.
Maintenance is poor.
Which is fine if it's a toaster, but if it's a helicopter, you need to do the suggested maintenance procedures. Furthermore, a lot of the muscle is unusable. China has a multitude of men and tanks, but virtually no way to get them to Taiwan. The Strait of Taiwan is actually three times as wide as, and significantly less navigable than, the English Channel. And China has little experience in an offshore operation requiring the coordination of air, naval and ground forces.