Newsman: China announced sanctions on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her landmark trip to Taiwan this week, making her the highest-ranking US official designated for penalties by Beijing.
Last year, Beijing sanctioned former US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, just as President Joe Biden and his administration took power. Pompeo only visited Taiwan after leaving government and being sanctioned by China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the unspecified sanctions against Pelosi and her immediate family after the speaker departed from Japan late Friday. Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing that tensions over Taiwan this week had been “entirely caused by Speaker Pelosi and US politicians.”
China didn’t specify what the sanctions entailed, but previous measures have restricted individuals from entering China, Hong Kong or Macau, or doing business there. Such curbs are likely to be largely symbolic for Pelosi.
Washington has so far resisted sanctioning Pelosi’s Chinese counterpart legislative leader and No. 3 official, Li Zhanshu, over his central role imposing the national security law on Hong Kong in 2020. Wang Chen, vice chairman of the legislature and a member of the 25-member Politburo, is the highest-ranking Chinese official to face US penalties.
In 1979, the US formally recognized the government in Beijing and cut ties with Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, as part of a “one China” compromise. Beijing views Pelosi’s visit as the latest in a series of steps to “hollow out” that agreement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China had chosen to “overreact” to Pelosi’s trip, and use it as a pretext to engage in provocative military activity.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Announces China’s Sanctions on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
“In disregard of China’s grave concerns and firm opposition, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi insisted on visiting China’s Taiwan region. This constitutes a gross interference in China’s internal affairs. It gravely undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, seriously tramples on the one-China principle, and severely threatens peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. In response to Pelosi’s egregious provocation, China decides to adopt sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family members in accordance with relevant laws of the People’s Republic of China.”
