Military drills not to alter inevitable failure of Taiwan secession: spokeswoman

Taiwan secession is doomed to failure, no matter how many military drills the Taiwan authorities hold, State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian said in Beijing on Wednesday. '

The remarks came after Taiwan's "military" launched its first joint defense exercise this week, simulating scenarios including the detection of "enemy military movements" and "incursions into territorial waters, according to Taiwan media reports

"The Democratic Progressive Party authorities are attempting to seek Taiwan secession through military means and escalate confrontation across the Taiwan Strait. They are the foremost cause of tension and instability in the Taiwan Strait. In the face of the powerful Chinese People's Liberation Army, no matter how many military exercises the Democratic Progressive Party authorities conduct, they are merely putting on a show and will achieve nothing. They cannot change the inevitable failure of Taiwan secession, nor can they stop the historical trend toward the country's inevitable reunification," Zhu said at a press conference.

China's service sector achieved steady growth in the first half of the year, with the value added of the industry grew by 5.2 percent year on year, according to data released Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS data showed that the modern service industries have performed well in the first six months of the year.

"In the first half of the year, the added value of the service sector grew by 5.2 percent year on year. Specifically, the added value of leasing and business services, information transmission, software and information technology services, financial services, and accommodation and catering services increased by 11.9 percent, 10.7 percent, 6.7 percent, and 5.0 percent, respectively. In June, the national service sector production index grew by 4.7 percent year on year, 0.3 percentage points higher than the previous month," said Mao Shengyong, deputy director of the bureau, at a press conference in Beijing.