"The anti-secession law is unacceptable to Taiwanese people and it does not fit the spirit of promoting peaceful development in cross-strait relations," said the Mainland Affairs Council, the island's top China policy-making body.

"We hope the Chinese authorities will abolish the law and remove its missiles targeting Taiwan to maintain peace and stability in the region," it said in a statement coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the law.

Presidential spokesman Wang Yu-chi also criticised the law as "unnecessary," saying the majority of Taiwanese people prefer the status quo to independence.

The law, which authorises the use of force against Taiwan if it moves towards independence, was adopted by Beijing amid mounting tensions when the island's pro-independence leader Chen Shui-bian was in power.

Taiwan and China have been separately governed since a 1949 civil war, but Beijing still regards the island as part of its territory to be retaken, by force if necessary.

Ties have improved dramatically under Chen's successor President Ma Ying-jeou, who took office last May pledging to boost bilateral trade and tourism.

The two sides have since launched daily flights and direct shipping links while Taiwan also plans to phase out its decades-old military conscription policy over the next five years.

For its part, Beijing reportedly is considering cutting the number of missiles deployed against the island, which Taiwan estimates at more than 1,300.

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