China has announced sanctions against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her family for her “vicious” and “provocative” trip to Taiwan.
The sanctions were announced Friday, with China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was an “egregious provocation” and a “gross interference” into the country’s internal affairs.
“In disregard of China’s grave concerns and firm opposition, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi insisted on visiting China’s Taiwan region. This constitutes a gross interference in China’s internal affairs,” the spokesperson said.
“It gravely undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, seriously tramples on the one-China principle, and severely threatens peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” they added.
Pelosi and her delegation flew out of Taipei after a 19-hour stay that was the highest-level U.S. visit in 25 years.
During Pelosi’s visit and after she left, China conducted alarming military drills in the Taiwan Strait, calling them “necessary and just.”
“In response to Pelosi’s egregious provocation, China decides to adopt sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family members in accordance with relevant laws of the People’s Republic of China,” the spokesperson said.
The drills surrounding Taiwan have caused concern for Japan, which claimed that five missiles fired toward its territory landed in its exclusive economic zone.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said it is a “serious threats to Japan’s national security and the safety of the Japanese people.”
While in Tokyo, Pelosi explained that her visit to Taiwan was not intended to disrupt the “status quo.”
“They may try to keep Taiwan from visiting or participating in other places, but they will not isolate Taiwan by preventing us to travel there,” Pelosi said at a press conference. “We will not allow them to isolate Taiwan.”