On Friday, April 7, 2023, China reacted to the United States House Speaker’s meeting with the Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing-wen, by announcing sanctions against the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and other organizations.
Republican House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy held talks with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, at the Reagan library in Simi Valley, California, in defiance of Chinese warnings.
McCarthy joined a growing series of foreign legislators who have met Tsai in a show of support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese intimidation.
U.S.-Chinese relations have reduced to their lowest level in decades due to disputes over the status of Taiwan, which split with China in 1949 after a civil war, as well as security, technology and Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong and Muslim ethnic minorities.
Beijing’s ruling Communist Party says Taiwan is destined to reunite with China, by force if necessary, and has no right to conduct foreign relations. President Xi Jinping’s government claims that contact with foreign officials will encourage Taiwanese who want formal independence, a step Beijing says would 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 to Taiwan separatist activities.”
It said Chinese institutions were prohibited from having any cooperation or contact with them.
The ministry also cited John P. Walters, Sarah May Stern; Chair of the Hudson Institute Board of Directors, John Heubusch; former Executive Director of the Reagan Foundation, and Joanne M. Drake; the foundation’s Chief Administrator.
The ministry stated that they were barred from visiting China and any property or financial assets belonging to them in China would be frozen.
“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 Chinese Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office noted in a statement.
Hudson Institute President John P. Walters said in a statement that China’s Communist Party “has a long history of attempting to silence voices, domestically and abroad that oppose its international aggression and its oppression of the Chinese people. It has not worked before, and it will not work now. We stand firmly with Taiwan and against the CCP and its ruthless, genocidal policies.”
Tsai accepted a leadership award from the Hudson Institute as part of her U.S. trip and gave a speech about Taiwan’s challenges in regional security.
Moreover, Tsai remained firm in her stance of increasing Taiwan’s global engagement upon her return to Taiwan on Friday.
“We have shown the international community that when we face pressure and threats, Taiwan will be more united. We will never give in because we are suppressed, nor will we stop communicating with the world because we are hindered.”
Tsai Ing-wen
Status Quo That Brought Peace To Taiwan Strait No Longer Acceptable For Chinese Leadership
Also on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said that “in recent years, we have seen: For the Chinese leadership, the status quo that brought peace and stability to the Taiwan Strait for decades is no longer acceptable. This has led China to increase pressure and coercive means against Taiwan.”
The United States government has no official relations with Taiwan but maintains extensive informal and commercial ties. Washington is required by federal law to ensure the island has the means to defend itself if attacked by China.
“We are sticking to our ‘One China’ policy but we are equipping Taiwan with what it needs to defend itself against any form of aggression. We are taking that very seriously,” Blinken told German newspaper group, Funke Mediengruppe and French newspaper, Ouest-France in remarks published on Friday that have been retranslated to English.
China has stepped up efforts to intimidate Taiwan by flying fighter jets and firing missiles into the sea nearby on a near-daily basis.
The pressure campaign has left many concerned about the possibility of an invasion.
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