China imposes new sanctions on Taiwan's US representatives

Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's top representative in US speaks during an event with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, in New York, US, in this handout picture released March 30, 2023. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS

According to state media on Friday, China has imposed additional sanctions on Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the United States, Hsiao Bi-khim, preventing her and her family from entering the mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau.

The sanctions, which China's Taiwan Affairs Office declared, prohibit investors and companies associated with Hsiao from collaborating with mainland organizations and individuals. They follow this week's encounter between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a stopover in the United States.

In response to the announcement, Hsiao tweeted, "Wow, the PRC (People's Republic of China) just sanctioned me again, for the second time,"

China also imposed similar sanctions on The Prospect Foundation, which is led by a former Taiwanese foreign minister, and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, which was co-founded in 1993 by Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

State media reported that China's Taiwan Affairs Office accused the institutions of promoting "Taiwan independence" abroad.

After former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last August, China imposed sanctions, including an entry prohibition on seven Taiwanese officials and lawmakers, including Hsiao, whom it accused of being "independence diehards" The democratically governed island condemned China's actions.

China views Taiwan as part of its territory, not a distinct nation. The government of Taiwan disputes China's claim.

On the August sanctions list are Joseph Wu, the foreign minister of Taiwan, Wellington Koo, the secretary-general of Taiwan's National Security Council, and DPP politicians.

Senior Taiwanese officials do not visit China, and Chinese courts do not have jurisdiction in Taiwan so Chinese sanctions will have little practical effect.

Chao Tien-lin of the DPP told reporters that the sanctions against Hsiao were "absurd." He told reporters in parliament, "This will have no impact on her."

Publish : 2023-04-07 13:02:00

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