Mainland urges US return to correct path on Taiwan

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday urged the United States to stop any official contact with Taiwan and cease going down on the wrong path as a group of US senators planned to visit the island.

The senators should adhere to the one-China policy held by the US government and Washington should abide by the one-China principle and stipulations in the three Sino-US joint communiques, Zhao said.

"China will continue to take forceful measures to resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he added.

A bipartisan group of seven US senators led by the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to land at Taipei's Songshan airport on Thursday night. It is the second such delegation to visit since US lawmakers traveled to Taiwan on a military plane in November.