Chinese lawmakers described the anti-secession law as "extremely necessary" and "very timely" at their group discussions in Beijing on Sunday, attended by top legislator Wu Bangguo.

The draft law was submitted for the first round of deliberation on Saturday to the 13th session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, held from December 25 to 29.

Standing Committee members unanimously agreed that Taiwan is an indispensable part of China, and that the mainland has made a sustained effort to promote peaceful reunification.

In recent years, the activities of secessionists have become the largest obstacle to the development of cross-straits relations and peaceful reunification, as well as the most serious threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, according to the lawmakers.

All social strata on the mainland and many overseas Chinese have repeatedly expressed their support for the use of legal means to fight Taiwan secessionist forces and realize the peaceful reunification of China. A number of bills, proposals and motions to that end have been submitted to the NPC.

The lawmakers held that the time is ripe for enacting the anti-secession law in order to oppose and check the Taiwan secessionists, promote the peaceful reunification of China, safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity and maintain the fundamental interests of the nation.

China's constitution provides a basis for formulating the law against secession. Responses to the Taiwan question issued by three previous generations of central government leadership -- especially by Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin -- together with a series of state policies, offer explicit guidelines for the formulation of the law.

They said that enactment of the law will help to mobilize all Chinese citizens, including Taiwan patriots, to advance the cause of the motherland's peaceful reunification. It will help to maintain peace and stability throughout the Asia-Pacific region as well as across the straits.

The lawmakers said that the draft law fully implements the basic policies on Taiwan, such as "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems". It reflects China's utmost sincerity in pursuing peaceful reunification and the common resolve of all Chinese citizens to safeguard the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The lawmakers unanimously agreed that the draft should be submitted to the third annual session of the 10th National People's Congress, to be held early in 2005, for further deliberation.

Also on Sunday, the lawmakers also discussed the draft law on notaries and draft decision on expert testimony.

(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2004)