A senior Chinese lawmaker said Tuesday that resolving the Taiwan question and accomplishing national reunification is entirely an internal affair of China bearing on the fundamental interests of all Chinese people, the Taiwan compatriots included.

"The Taiwan question is one that is left over from China's civil war of the late 1940s...On this question, we will not submit to any interference by outside forces," Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said in his explanations on the draft Anti-Secession Law to lawmakers at the NPC annual session.

Wang reiterated there is but one China in the world, and both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China, and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division.

"This is our principled position on the Taiwan question, a position that enjoys the support of the entire Chinese people," he said.

Noting the two sides of the Taiwan Straits are yet to be reunified owing to many complex factors, he said, the fact that Taiwan is part of China and both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China remains unchanged.

According to him, the draft legislation further makes it clear that safeguarding China's sovereignty and territorial integrity is the common obligation of all Chinese people, the Taiwan compatriots included, Taiwan is part of China and the state shall never allow the "Taiwan independence" forces to make Taiwan secede from China under any name or by any means.

China aims to achieve national reunification through peaceful means

China shall do its utmost with maximum sincerity to achieve a peaceful reunification, the senior lawmaker said.

"After the country is reunified peacefully, Taiwan may practice systems different from those on the mainland and enjoy a high degree of autonomy," said Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), at parliament annual session.

Deputies to the NPC attending the session will deliberate the draft Anti-Secession Law and vote to ratify the Law on March 14.

Wang said in his explanations on the draft Law that adhering to the one-China principle is the unshakable basis for the settlement of the Taiwan question.

"The one-China principle reflects the very fact that the mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China and highlights our goal of a peaceful reunification," he said. "'Peaceful reunification and one country, two systems' has been our basic policy in achieving a solution to the Taiwan question."

A reunification by peaceful means best serves the fundamental interests of all Chinese people, the Taiwan compatriots included, as it is conducive to fostering a warm affection among compatriots on both sides, to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole and to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, he said.

The "one country, two systems" formula not only embodies the principled position of achieving national reunification and safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity, but allows a high degree of flexibility by taking into full account Taiwan's past and present circumstances, Wang said.