The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday slammed China for sanctioning Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and six other Taiwanese officials for being “diehard separatists,” saying its attempt to intimidate Taiwanese would backfire.
China has no authority to dictate the actions of Taiwanese, because Taiwan is a democratic nation that upholds the rule of law, and would never yield to intimidation and threats from an authoritarian regime, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news conference in Taipei.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency earlier yesterday reported that the Taiwan Work Office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee has imposed sanctions against Hsiao and other “diehard Taiwanese independence separatists.”
Photo compiled by the Taipei Times
In addition to Hsiao, National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄), Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) and New Power Party (NPP) Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) were added to the sanctions list, Xinhua reported.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) have been on the list since it was made public in November last year.
The people on the list and their family members are banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau, Xinhua reported.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
The sanctions are unlikely to have any practical effect, as senior Taiwanese officials do not visit China.
Their affiliated institutions are restricted from cooperating with organizations and individuals in China, and enterprises related to them cannot engage in business activities in the country, Xinhua said.
The people on the list have gone to great lengths to “collude with external forces” in provocations advocating Taiwanese independence and pose a grave danger to “Chinese national rejuvenation,” Xinhua quoted an office spokesperson as saying.
China’s efforts to deter people from speaking up for Taiwan by targeting politicians and opinion leaders who have worked to enhance Taiwan’s international visibility would only backfire, as it would foster resentment among Taiwanese, Ou said.
The Mainland Affairs Council said the sanctions were “illegal” and “ineffective,” as Taiwan and China do not have jurisdiction over each other.
The government would respond to the sanctions with “necessary measures in a timely manner” to avoid adverse effects, and ensure national security and the public interest, it added.
Lin said on Facebook that he felt “honored” to be sanctioned by an authoritarian regime, adding that he considered it as a “sign of being part of the free world.”
When news of the sanctions came out, many of his friends working in the foreign media, the diplomatic corps and at think tanks sent him congratulatory messages, Lin said.
Chen said that she “felt extremely honored” for being sanctioned, as it shows that Beijing recognizes her determination to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty and democratic values.
“The NPP and I will continue to stand firm on Taiwanese values. Taiwan is an independent, sovereign nation and I am Taiwanese. My determination to defend Taiwan’s democracy and freedom will never change,” she told a news conference in Taipei.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Taiwan must capitalize on the shock waves DeepSeek has sent through US markets to show it is a tech partner of Washington, a researcher said China’s reported breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) would prompt the US to seek a stronger alliance with Taiwan and Japan to secure its technological superiority, a Taiwanese researcher said yesterday. The launch of low-cost AI model DeepSeek (深度求索) on Monday sent US tech stocks tumbling, with chipmaker Nvidia Corp losing 16 percent of its value and the NASDAQ falling 612.46 points, or 3.07 percent, to close at 19,341.84 points. On the same day, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Sector index dropped 488.7 points, or 9.15 percent, to close at 4,853.24 points. The launch of the Chinese chatbot proves that a competitor can
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79
RSS