China has further escalated tensions with Taiwan by implementing sanctions on Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s ambassador to the US, banning her and family from entering the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau. The nature of the sanctions were announced by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which added that investors and firms related to Bi-khim were also banned from engagement with mainland individuals and organizations.
The news comes after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen traveled to the US to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this week, a move that China has characterized as a "provocation." China maintains that Taiwan is a Chinese territory, while Taiwan claims independence.
Hsiao tweeted: “Wow, PRC (People’s Republic of China) just sanctioned me again, for the second time.”
China's foreign ministry has also gone after US institutions, including the Hudson Institute and Reagan Library and their leadership, claiming that they provided a platform to Ing-wen’s separatist agenda, per Reuters.
However, Taiwan’s foreign ministry has suggested that China is "deceiving itself" if it believes that the recent sanctions are going to cause the small country to reverse course. They also mentioned that China did not have the right to intervene in diplomacy between Taiwan and the US, per the report.
The ministry said: "It not only deepens our people’s antipathy but exposes the irrational and ridiculous nature of the communist regime."
China’s foreign ministry has also noted that the government has taken measures to limit universities, institutions, and various organizations from being able to engage with the Hudson Institute and Reagan Library.
The news comes as China recently flew one warplane and another aircraft across the self-governed island’s defense identification zone, appearing to use the actions as a form of intimidation. China also mobilized its aircraft carrier, the Shandong, though it has been reported that it is only training. The US also has the USS Nimitz within 400 nautical miles of Taiwan, though the US military has not commented on the nature of the ship’s reason for being there.
