Tue January, 2021, Age: 3 years
China, via Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, announced a slew of impending sanctions of U.S. officials over U.S. conduct related both to Taiwan and Hong Kong. “Based on the wrongful actions of the U.S. side, China has already decided to impose sanctions on U.S. officials who behave egregiously on Taiwan,” stated Hua. With regards to Taiwan, China has taken particular issue with the U.S. lifting decades old internal restrictions that limited how U.S. diplomats could interact with their Taiwanese counterparts. This was meant to assuage Chinese sensibilities as China considers Taiwan to be a part of its territory. Punitive measures against U.S. officials related to Hong Kong have stemmed from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Friday announcement that the U.S. would sanction six Hong Kong and Chinese officials due to their involvement in a crackdown of democratic factions within the city. It is unclear what sanctions against U.S. officials will look like. Prior sanctions against U.S. politicians and companies have largely been confined to rhetoric and bluster.
