China’s foreign ministry blasts Taiwan inauguration, Philippines standoff in South China Sea

China’s Foreign Ministry warned that Taiwan independence was a "dead-end" on the day of the presidential inauguration of the self-ruled island on Monday.

"No matter under what name or excuse, pushing for Taiwan independence is doomed to fail," the ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated at a daily news briefing when asked about the inaugural speech by President Lai Ching-te.

In his speech earlier in the day, Lai said China and Taiwan "are not subordinate to each other" and urged...