Some argue that military force and capabilities do not really matter. What really matters is people's perception of the threat. The Mongol conqueror did manage to induce some cities to open their gates to him by the reputation he developed for massacring the population of cities that resisted. He could defeat armies as well as terrorize cities. As long as China lacks the capability to defeat Taiwan military forces, there is no assurance that any amount of terror against civilians would induce submission.
Nobody can be sure, including Beijing.
Military experts in China must realize, however, that if the Taiwanese armed forces were to choose resistance, the PLA might have to fight a real war, for which their forces are ill prepared. The psychological and political effects of violence are highly varied. Terrorism does breed fear, but it also often breeds resentment, anger, and perhaps a renewed determination to resist and defeat the source of the terror. The Nazi liberal use of terror in occupied regions did not uniformly secure passive obedience. Many chose to resist, subtly or violently.