The verbal fireworks that have been flying across the Taiwan Strait over the past few years have been a most unsettling development in the region. The election of the pro-independence Chen Shui-bian, of the Democratic Progressive Party, as Taiwan's president in 2000 has seen an escalating war of words over 'one China'.
Now that the mainland has passed the anti-secession law, ardent advocates for Taiwan's independence have the most to celebrate, as they have scored a significant victory in casting the mainland as the war-mongering party.
The development fits the interests of those who see China's emergence as a threat. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has criticised the law and expressed concern over the mainland's increased military spending.
This is despite an obvious bid by the mainland leadership to dampen perception of the legislation as a law for war. At his press conference on Monday, Premier Wen Jiabao made a point of describing it as a law for peace. The headline on the front page of the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily, Beijing's official mouthpiece, was 'NPC enacts historic law for peace'.
The corresponding report stressed that the bill seeks a peaceful unification with Taiwan, and that the state would use 'non-peaceful means and other necessary measures' only as a last resort to stop Taiwan's secession, should all efforts for a peaceful reunification prove futile.
But these deliberate efforts cannot hide the fact that, even though the law is largely a codification of the mainland's long-standing policy towards Taiwan, it has given the leadership legal authority to wage war on the renegade province without consulting parliament.
The law's passage is seen as an attempt by the new leadership, headed by President Hu Jintao , to rally domestic support, particularly from the military.
