China put sanctions on Nancy Pelosi for visiting Taiwan

• China says it will impose sanctions on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her immediate family.
• Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has enraged China, which considers self-governed Taiwan to be its territory.
• Beijing has increased military drills and warplane incursions around the island.

Following the US House speaker’s visit to Taiwan earlier this week, China announced Friday that it would impose sanctions on Nancy Pelosi and her immediate family, as Beijing increased military drills and warplane incursions around the island.

China’s Foreign Ministry condemned Pelosi’s “vicious and provocative actions,” claiming that her visit to Taiwan amounted to “seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs.”

“U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted on visiting Taiwan in disregard of China’s serious concerns and firm opposition, seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs, seriously undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, seriously trampling on the one-China principle, and seriously threatening the peace and stability across Taiwan Strait,”  China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

“In response to Pelosi’s vicious and provocative actions,” the statement said, “China has decided to impose sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family.”

Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Wednesday, during which she met with President Tsai Ing-wen and other leaders, has enraged China’s Communist Party, which considers the self-governed democratic island to be its territory despite never having ruled it.

Pelosi struck a defiant tone at a news conference in Tokyo on the final stop of her Asia tour, saying China had sought to isolate Taiwan from the international community but would not prevent US officials from travelling there.

“We will not allow (China) to isolate Taiwan,” the California Democrat said Friday. “They are not doing our travel schedule.”

Beijing had warned that if Pelosi went ahead with the visit, it would take “forceful measures,” and on her departure, it launched live-fire military exercises and launched missiles over Taiwan for the first time.

According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, as of 11 a.m. Friday, several Chinese military jets and warships had conducted exercises in the Taiwan Strait and had crossed the median line, which marks the halfway point between the island and mainland China.

According to the ministry, Taiwan’s military responded with radio warnings, air patrol forces, naval ships, and shore-based missile systems.

China sent 22 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Thursday, all of which crossed the median line.

A number of countries, including the G7 grouping of the world’s largest economies, have criticised China’s drills, urging Beijing not to disrupt the region’s status quo.

Pelosi stated on Friday that her visit to Taiwan was intended to maintain the status quo.

“It’s about the Taiwan Relations Act, the US-China policy, all of the pieces of legislation and agreements that have established what our relationship is — to have peace in the Taiwan Strait and to have the status quo prevail, she explained.

Pelosi also dismissed criticism that her visit was more about enhancing her legacy than benefiting the island, calling the claim “ridiculous.”

She cited Taiwan’s “free and open democracy,” prosperous economy, and relatively progressive LGBTQ rights as examples. “This isn’t about me — it’s about them,” she clarified.”It’s about Taiwan, and I am proud to have worked over the years to showcase the concerns that they have with mainland China.”

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for an immediate halt to China’s drills, calling them “a serious issue concerning our country’s and its people’s security.”

Earlier, Japan filed a formal complaint after five Chinese missiles landed in its EEZ.

A meeting between the Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers has been cancelled due to deteriorating relations.

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li summoned envoys to China from European countries, the EU, and Japan on Thursday in protest of their statements about Taiwan.

Deng called the G7 statement a “blatant political provocation” that “distorts the facts.” He accused the countries involved of interfering in China’s internal affairs.

Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan was the first by a sitting House speaker in 25 years, dating back to then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s visit in 1997. Her Asia tour took her to Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.