April 10, 2023: China is imposing further sanctions on Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s de factor ambassador to the U.S., which banned her and family members from coming to the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, state media reported.

The sanctions, informed by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, prohibit investors and firms relating to Hsiao from cooperating with mainland organizations and individuals. They come after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen meets with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a stopover in the U.S.

“Wow, the PRC just sanctioned me for the second time,” Hsiao has written in response to the report.

China is putting similar sanctions on The Prospect Foundation, headed by a retired Taiwanese foreign minister, and the Asian Liberals and Democrats Council, a multinational alliance of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of Taiwan founded in 1993.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office is accusing the institutions of the idea of “Taiwan independence” internationally, state media stated.

Last August, after retired U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, China put sanctions, which include an entry ban on seven Taiwanese officials and lawmakers, which include Hsiao, whom it accused of being “independence diehards,” which drew condemnation from the democratically ruled island.

China considers Taiwan its territory and not an independent country. Taiwan’s government disputes China’s claim.

Others are on the August sanctions list, with Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu, Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council Wellington Koo, and DPP people involved in politics.

Chinese sanctions will have a practical impact as senior Taiwanese officials do not go to China while courts do not have jurisdiction in Taiwan.

DPP lawmaker Chao Tien-lin told people the sanctions on Hsiao were “absurd.” “This will not affect her,” he told reporters at parliament.