MAC protests China's sanctions against Taiwan's U.S. envoy, 2 groups
ROC Central News Agency
04/07/2023 08:17 PM
Taipei, April 7 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the top government agency in Taiwan handling relations with China, strongly protested China's blacklisting Friday of Taiwan's representative to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and two Taiwanese groups.
In a statement Friday, the MAC said China's sanctions simply reflected an attempt to intimidate Taiwan activists and would only weaken cross-Taiwan Strait relations, and it strongly protested what it called the hostile move toward Taiwan.
The MAC said the government will continue to monitor developments across the Taiwan Strait after the sanctions, and will come up with appropriate measures, if necessary, to counter Beijing's conduct to ensure national security and protect the interests of Taiwan's people.
The government will also continue its efforts to let the international community know about China's attempts to annex Taiwan and suppress Taiwan's democracy, the MAC said.
Earlier Friday, the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of China's State Council announced the sanctions against Hsiao, which repeated a previous blacklisting of Taiwan's U.S. envoy imposed in August 2022.
The latest sanctions came after Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday U.S. time, making her the first Taiwan president to meet with an American House speaker on U.S. soil.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Beijing's mouthpiece, Hsiao and her family members are banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macao.
Meanwhile, institutions affiliated with Hsiao are restricted from cooperating with related organizations and individuals in China, and enterprises related to them cannot engage in business activities in China, Xinhua said.
In addition to Hsiao, the Prospect Foundation and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats were added to the latest list of sanctioned individuals or organizations.
TAO spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) said in a statement that the two organizations, led by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), had advocated Taiwan independence and cultivated an anti-China front internationally through academic exchanges.
Their aim, Zhu said, was to create "one China, one Taiwan" and "two Chinas," which violated the "one China principle" -- under which China insists that Taiwan is part of its territory.
Echoing the MAC, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a separate statement that the sanctions against Hsiao and the two organizations will achieve nothing but raise resentment among Taiwan's people against China.
Hsiao simply said on Twitter: "Wow, the PRC just sanctioned me again, for the second time."
Before Tsai met with McCarthy, Mao Ning (毛寧), a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said on Monday that Beijing strongly opposes "any form of official interaction and contact between the U.S. side and Taiwan authorities" and "will take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity."
On Wednesday, the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) issued a statement saying that a three-day "joint cruise and patrol special operation" was being carried out in the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday that a Chinese aircraft carrier, the Shandong (山東艦), was on what was expected to be long-range training exercises about 200 nautical miles east of Taiwan.
(By Lu Chia-jung, Novia Huang, Tony Liao, Tsao Yu-fan and Frances Huang)
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