Beijing yesterday sanctioned Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and several US institutions, accusing them of abetting “Taiwan separatist activities,” following President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) meetings in the US during stopovers on her trip to Central America.
In response to Tsai’s meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California and her activities in New York during a stopover en route to Belize and Guatemala, Beijing announced sanctions against the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute and the Washington-based Hudson Institute.
McCarthy and Tsai met at the Reagan library in Simi Valley on Wednesday.
Photo from Hsiao Bi-khim’s Facebook page
The Reagan library and the Hudson Institute, which on Thursday last week gave Tsai its Global Leadership Award, were sanctioned for “providing a platform and convenience to Taiwan separatist activities,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Chinese institutions are prohibited from having any cooperation or contact with them, the ministry said.
An e-mail seeking comment from the Reagan foundation was not immediately answered on Thursday.
The ban on Hsiao does not appear to be substantively different from a sanction placed on her when then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August last year.
China at the time announced sanctions on Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials, including Hsiao, banning them, their family members and organizations they are linked to from traveling to or operating in China, including Hong Kong.
Yesterday’s announcement said that financial sponsors of Hsiao are also included.
Hsiao posted a screen grab from the Web site of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Twitter, writing: “Wow, the PRC just sanctioned me again, for the second time,” referring to the People’s Republic of China.
The Taipei-based Prospect Foundation and the Philippines-based Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats were sanctioned for involvement in promoting Taiwanese independence “under the guise of academic and research exchanges,” TAO spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) said.
The Prospect Foundation works on dialogue and cooperation on issues related to security, economy and social development. The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats — of which the DPP is a member — is a regional organization established in Thailand that promotes exchanges among liberal and democratic political parties in Asia.
The ministry also sanctioned Sarah Stern, chair of the Hudson Institute’s board of directors, and John Walters, the institute’s director; as well as John Heubusch, former executive director of the Reagan foundation — which manages the library — and Joanne Drake, its chief administrator.
The people are barred from visiting China, and any property or financial assets belonging to sanctioned people or entities in China would be frozen, the ministry said.
“We will take resolute measures to punish the Taiwan independence separatist forces and their actions, and resolutely safeguard our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the TAO said in a statement.
The Mainland Affairs Council said that it is established practice for presidents of Taiwan to transit in the US on trips to visit diplomatic allies in Central America.
As a sovereign nation, Taiwan has the right to interact with other countries, it said, adding that China has no right to comment.
Meanwhile, China deployed warships and aircraft near Taiwan for a second day yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Three Chinese warships sailed in waters near Taiwan, while a fighter jet and an anti-submarine helicopter also entered the nation’s air defense identification zone, it said.
On Wednesday, China’s Shandong aircraft carrier, one of two in its naval fleet, sailed south of Taiwan on its way to the western Pacific, hours before Tsai met McCarthy.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday said that defense and security agencies were keeping a close eye on developments, and asked “the public to rest assured.”
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua and AFP
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