China won't renounce use of force over Taiwan

China will never commit to renouncing the use of force over Taiwan, the government in Beijing said yesterday after another bout of war games and a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the scene of a famous defeat for Taiwanese forces.

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China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, staged a day of large-scale drills around the island on Monday that it said were a warning to "separatist acts" following last week's national day speech by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te.

"We are willing to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and endeavor," Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular press briefing in Beijing.