THE closely watched anti-secession law to be tabled in China's parliament the National People's Congress tomorrow will consist of only brief guidelines.

It will merely codify China's known policies regarding peaceful unification with Taiwan. The specifics will be fleshed out only
later this year.

The one-and-a-half-page law contains a dozen or so articles totalling about 1,000 words. This generic law focuses on preventing de jure independence, but will not set any specific target date for unification with Taiwan.

The Detail Regulations for the Implementation of the Anti-secession Law will be drafted and is expected to be adopted
towards the end of the year.

A source told The Straits Times that besides this law, a National Mobilisation Law and a State of Emergency Law will also be drafted in tandem to give the Chinese government the legal authority to take whatever actions are deemed necessary to prevent the secession of Taiwan.

Along with China's Constitution and the National Defence Law, these three legal instruments form the basis of Beijing's arsenal in waging a legal war against separatism.

The anti-secession law embodies the principles laid down in the eight-point cross-strait policies promulgated by former president Jiang Zemin and its recent modification by his successor Hu Jintao.

The law will define the meaning of secession and specify where to draw the line.

According to the source, the law will use the phrase"" non-peaceful means'' to replace the current standard way of saying
that China shall not undertake not to use ""force''.

This is because ""non-peaceful means'' encompass a far wider range of options available to China, and the use of force is merely one of them. The law will also spell out the various scenarios when non-peaceful means will be activated.

The source stressed that by drafting the anti-secession law, Beijing is telling the world that it would be prepared to tolerate
the present status quo in which Taiwan enjoys de facto independence for the time being.

""Therefore, it should not be read as an attempt to provide legal basis for seizing Taiwan by force,'' explained the source. ""There wouldn't be war unless Taiwan declares de jure independence.''

The source also pointed out that the wording of the law would not be belligerent.

""Given the recent improvements in cross-strait relations, especially President Hu's March 5 statement reassuring Taiwanese that China would do its best to seek peaceful reunification, one can expect that warlike language would not be used.''

According to Mr Yang Yizhou of the All China Taiwanese Association, work on the law started as early as 2003, while
research by scholars started far earlier.

While most people preferred a National Unification Law then, the association insisted that the time was not ripe for unification, which might invite foreign intervention.

Their views prevailed.