However, Mr Wen also highlighted three areas in which Beijing would offer to mend ties with Taiwan.

After the successful non-stop charter flights over the Lunar New Year, Mr Wen said he hoped the arrangement could be expanded to regular passenger flights.

He also reiterated the mainland's offer to assist farmers in southern Taiwan sell agricultural products on the mainland.

In addition, he hoped mainland fishermen would be allowed to work in Taiwan under short-term labour contracts.

Mr Wen said more preferential policies and measures would be announced soon.

He reiterated that the legislation, which came into effect yesterday, was a law of 'peace and unification' instead of one that targeted Taiwanese people.

'This is a law to suppress and oppose 'Taiwan separatist' forces. It is only by suppressing and objecting 'Taiwan independence' [that we] can [achieve] peace in the Taiwan Strait,' he said.

Minor changes were made in the full text of the Anti-Secession Law published yesterday.

One of the changes was in the crucial Article 8, which spells out the three scenarios for using force against Taiwan.

The third scenario was modified to read if 'possibilities' - instead of 'conditions' - for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted, Beijing would use force to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This article was merged with Article 9 on steps for employing non-peaceful means.

Lieutenant-General Liu Fengjun, a deputy commander of the Beijing military region, said the PLA was stepping up preparations in case there was a need to use 'non-peaceful means'.

Although the mainland enjoyed overall superiority over Taiwan in terms of combat power, Taiwan nonetheless had strength in certain areas, said Lieutenant-General Xu Genchu , vice-president of the Academy of Military Sciences.

The escalating military co-operation between the US and Taiwan, which could tip the scale, called for close monitoring, he said.

Yesterday's 99.9 per cent approval of the legislation - 2,896 'yes' votes, zero 'no' votes and two abstentions - was groundbreaking, even by NPC standards, where decisions on legislative measures, even popular ones, usually garner at least a handful of opposition ballots.

Delegates were unexpectedly proud of their part in the historic moment.

Chongqing Mayor Wang Hongju said he was excited to vote for the bill.

'I was pressing the button like crazy and clapping my hands like my life depended on it,' Mr Wang said.

Additional reporting by Josephine Ma