Photo: U.S. Reps Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
The Chinese government on Friday announced that it had sanctioned the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, for visiting Taiwan, according to media reports.
Periscope International reports that China and Taiwan have for many decades been embroiled in a dispute over Taiwan’s sovereign status, hence Pelosi’s visit, expectedly, sparked anger from the Chinese government which had for decades laid claims to Taiwan as being part of Chinese territory.
Announcing the sanctions in a statement, China’s Foreign Ministry, said that by the visit, Pelosi was “seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs and seriously undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The ministry’s statement said that Pelosi disregarded China’s concerns and resolute opposition to her visit to Taiwan, which is a self-ruled island country.
It said that China would “impose heavy sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family,” though it did not give further details on what the sanctions would be.
The Chinese government also said that it would, in retaliation to Pelosi’s visit, cancel or suspend dialogue with the U.S.on a wide-range of issues from climate change to military relations and anti-drug efforts.
China also announced that because of Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, over the past two days, it had already deployed more than 100 warplanes and 10 warships to take part in live-fire military drills surrounding Taiwan.
