China announced a new round of sanctions against Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States, Hsiao Bi-khim, after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the US, reported the Chinese state media, on Friday (April 7). Hsiao and her family members have been prohibited from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, as per media reports.
This comes after the Taiwanese president met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during her visit in the US state of California this week. The meeting has since drawn condemnation from Beijing.
As per media reports, the sanctions announced by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office also prohibit investors and firms related to Hsiao from cooperating with mainland organisations and individuals. In response to the move, Hsiao took to Twitter and wrote, “Wow, the PRC just sanctioned me again, for the second time,” along with an image of the statement by the Chinese government.
Notably, Beijing had also announced sanctions against Hsaio and around seven Taiwanese officials in August after former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island. At the time China had also accused Hsiao of being “independence diehards” which drew condemnation from the democratically governed island.
China has repeatedly claimed the self-governing island of Taiwan as a part of its territory and has vowed to “reunify” the island with the mainland by force if necessary. Meanwhile, Taiwan has forged stronger ties with Washington under Tsai amid growing threats from Beijing.
On Friday, China also imposed similar sanctions against The Prospect Foundation, which is headed by a former Taiwanese foreign minister, and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, a multinational alliance of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office also accused these organisations of promoting the idea of “Taiwan independence” across the world, reported the state media. However, Chinese sanctions have very little impact since senior Taiwanese officials typically do not visit the mainland and Beijing’s courts do not have jurisdiction in Taiwan.
(With inputs from agencies)
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