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China sanctions Reagan Library, etc. on Taiwanese President Tsai’s Simi Valley trip – Daily News

Wu Huizhong

Taipei, Taiwan — China retaliates Meeting between the Speaker of the US House of Representatives and the President of Taiwan It announced sanctions on Friday against the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and other organizations, escalating tensions over democracy on the autonomous islands that Beijing claims are part of its territory.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ignored China’s warnings and met with President Tsai Ing-wen at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley on Wednesday. McCarthy joined a growing number of foreign legislators who met with Tsai to voice their support for Taiwan in the face of China’s threats.

Sino-U.S. relations have been strained in recent decades by disputes over the status of Taiwan, which was separated from China in 1949 after the civil war, and disputes over security, technology, and the Chinese government’s treatment of Hong Kong and its Muslim minority. It has fallen to its lowest level.

Related: Rep. Young Kim travels to Taiwan hours after McCarthy meets with President Tsai

Mainland China’s ruling Communist Party says Taiwan is destined to reunite with China by force if necessary and has no right to maintain diplomatic ties. President Xi Jinping’s government says contact with foreign officials will boost Taiwanese who want formal independence, and Beijing says that step will lead to war.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Reagan Library and the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank, were sanctioned for “providing a platform and convenience for Taiwan separatist activities.” Chinese agencies said they were forbidden to cooperate with or have contact with them.

Related: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen Meets with President McCarthy at Reagan Library

An email from the library seeking comment was not immediately responded to on Thursday night. “We have a long history of trying to silence voices at home and abroad that oppose the repression of the Chinese people.” It didn’t work before, now it doesn’t. We support Taiwan and oppose the Chinese Communist Party and its ruthless and genocidal policies. “

As part of her visit to the United States, Ms. Tsai received a Leadership Award from the Hudson Institute and delivered a speech on Taiwan’s challenges in regional security.

The ministry also cited Walters. Sarah May Stern, chair of the Hudson Institute Board of Directors; John Hubusch, former executive director of the Reagan Foundation, and Joan M. Drake, chief administrator of the foundation.

The ministry said they were barred from visiting China and their property and financial assets in China would be frozen.

“China will take decisive measures to punish the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and their actions, and resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Taiwan Office of the Chinese Cabinet said in a statement on Thursday.

China has stepped up its efforts to intimidate Taiwan by flying fighter jets and launching missiles into nearby waters almost every day. The pressure campaign has left many concerned about possible invasion.

President Tsai stuck to her stance of stepping up Taiwan’s global engagement after returning to Taiwan on Friday night.

“Taiwan has shown the international community to be more united in the face of pressure and threats,” she said. “We never give in because we are oppressed, nor do we stop communicating with the world because we are hindered.”

US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken said on Friday that “for China’s leaders in recent years, the status quo that has brought peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for decades is no longer acceptable.” . As a result, China is stepping up its pressure and coercion measures against Taiwan. “

The U.S. government does not have formal ties with Taiwan, but maintains extensive informal and commercial ties. Washington is obliged by federal law to ensure that the island has a means of defending itself if China attacks.

“We are sticking to the One China policy. But we are giving Taiwan what it needs to protect it from all forms of aggression. We are taking it,” Brinken told German newspaper group Funke Mediengruppe and French newspaper Ouest-France in remarks published on Friday, retranslated into English.

McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, flew to Taiwan in August to meet Tsai. Members of the European Parliament have also visited the island. Meanwhile, another congressional delegation is due to land in Taiwan on Thursday and meet with Tsai on Saturday.

Additionally, two Asian groups, the Prospect Foundation and the Asian Liberal Democratic Council, have been sanctioned for their involvement in promoting Taiwan’s independence “under the guise of academic and research exchanges,” said a spokesman for the Taiwan Bureau. One Zhu Fenglian said.

The Prospect Foundation is a government-funded think tank in Taiwan that engages in dialogue and cooperation on issues related to Taiwan’s security, economic and social development. The Council of Asian Liberal Democrats is a regional organization established in Thailand that facilitates exchanges between liberal and democratic political parties in Asia, including its member, the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan.

Separately, the Taiwanese office also announced further sanctions against Xiao Bikim, the US representative to Taiwan.

The ban on Xiao doesn’t look materially different from the ban Pelosi imposed on her when she visited Taiwan. China has announced sanctions against a list of individuals in the DPP and ruling government, including Xiao. It has since banned individuals, their families and related organizations from traveling or working in China, including Hong Kong. A financial sponsorship of Xiao is also included, according to the announcement on Friday.

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Associated Press writers Kirsten Grieshaber of Berlin and Ellen Knickmeyer of Washington, DC contributed to this report.

https://www.dailynews.com/2023/04/07/china-sanctions-reagan-library-others-over-tsais-us-trip/ China sanctions Reagan Library, etc. on Taiwanese President Tsai’s Simi Valley trip – Daily News

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