China on Friday sanctioned U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her close family in response to her Taiwan trip earlier this week.
In a statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said that Pelosi’s trip to the self-governing island was “a gross interference in China’s internal affairs” and that “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.”
Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan prompted a backlash from Beijing, with China accusing her visit of being in breach of the “One China” policy governing the island’s status.
China launched military drills in waters near Taiwan, which G7 foreign ministers condemned on Wednesday as “threatening” by Beijing, adding that “there is no justification to use a visit as pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait.”
The “One China” policy is the diplomatic acknowledgement of China’s position that there is only one Chinese government. In this framework, the U.S. acknowledges, but doesn’t endorse, Beijing’s claims that Taiwan is part of China.
