China to slap sanctions on Nancy Pelosi, family over Taiwan visit

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

China will impose sanctions on U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi and her close relations because of her visit to Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The threat of sanction comes as Pelosi said China will not isolate Taiwan by preventing U.S. officials from traveling there.

Pelosi spoke Friday in Tokyo as she wrapped up her Asia tour, highlighted by a visit to Taipei that infuriated China.

The Chinese have tried to isolate Taiwan, Pelosi said, including most recently by preventing the self-governing island from joining the World Health Organization.

“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,” she said, defending her trip that some say has escalated tension in the region.

Related News

Pelosi called the contention “ridiculous” and said that her trip to Taiwan was not intended to change the status quo for the island but to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait.

She praised Taiwan’s hard-fought democracy, including its progress in diversity including LGBTQ rights, and success in technology and business, while criticising China’s violations of trade agreements, proliferation of weapons and human rights problems.

“If we do not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interests, we lose all moral authority to speak out about human rights any place in the world,” Pelosi said.

“China has some contradictions — some progress in terms of lifting people up, some horrible things happening in terms of the Uyghurs. In fact, it’s been labeled a genocide.”

Load more