FILE PHOTO: Hsiao Bi-khim, a lawmaker from Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, speaks during an interview in Taipei, Taiwan. Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Hsiao Bi-khim, a lawmaker from Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, speaks during an interview in Taipei, Taiwan. Reuters
Taipei: Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US, Hsiao Bi-khim, has been hit with further sanctions by China which will prohibit her and family members from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.
The sanctions have been announced by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and will restrict investors and firms related Hsiao from cooperating with Chinese organisations and individuals. The sanctions have been announced following Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“Wow, the PRC (People’s Republic of China) just sanctioned me again, for the second time,” Hsiao tweeted in response to the announcement.
China also imposed similar sanctions on The Prospect Foundation, which is headed by a former Taiwanese foreign minister, and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, a multinational alliance Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) co-founded in 1993.
The institutions were also blamed for promoting the idea of “Taiwan independence” internationally.
Last August, after former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, China imposed sanctions including an entry ban on seven Taiwanese officials and lawmakers including Hsiao whom it accused of being “independence diehards”, drawing condemnation from the democratically governed island.
China considers Taiwan a part of its own territory and not a separate country, a claim that has been disputed by Taiwan.
Others on the August sanctions list also include Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu and Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council Wellington Koo, and DPP politicians.
Chinese sanctions will have a little practical impact as senior Taiwanese officials do not visit China while Chinese courts do not have jurisdiction in Taiwan.
DPP lawmaker Chao Tien-lin told reporters the sanctions on Hsiao were “absurd”. “This will have no impact on her,” he told reporters at parliament.
With inputs from agencies
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