China said it would sanction US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after she defied Beijing by becoming the highest-ranking American politician to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the measures on Pelosi and her immediate family members in a statement late Friday.
Pelosi is the highest ranking US official to face Chinese penalties. Last year, Beijing sanctioned former US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, just as President Joe Biden was being inaugurated. Pompeo, who has called for Taiwan to be recognized as a “free and sovereign nation” since leaving office, didn’t visit the self-ruled island until finishing his stint.
China has said that Pelosi’s position as second in the presidential line of succession made her trip highly sensitive.
Washington has resisted sanctioning China’s legislative leader and also No. 3 official, Li Zhanshu, over his central role imposing the national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020, despite extending penalties to other Chinese officials in that process.
