Last week, the Chinese government sanctioned the late President Ronald Reagan’s library for hosting a meeting between Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwan’s leader.
According to the Associated Press on Friday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the sanctions against the Reagan presidential library and the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington.
McCarthy met with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, in part to show U.S. solidarity with Taiwan. The Hudson Institute also presented Tsai with a leadership award, the AP noted.
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The AP reported that China singled them out for “providing a platform and convenience to Taiwan separatist activities,” the AP reported. Consequently, Chinese institutions are prohibited from cooperating or contacting either organization.
“We will take resolute measures to punish the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and their actions, and resolutely safeguard our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Chinese government said.
But, the AP noted, President Xi Jinping’s administration claims “contact with foreign officials will encourage Taiwanese who want formal independence, a step Beijing says would lead to war.”
Tsai stood her ground, saying in a statement on Friday, “We have shown the international community that when we face pressure and threats, Taiwan will be more united. We will never give in because we are suppressed, nor will we stop communicating with the world because we are hindered.”
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The groups who welcomed her were also defiant in the face of Chinese threats.
“The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is proud of its decision to host a bipartisan meeting between members of the United States House of Representatives, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Tsai Ing-wen, the President of Taiwan, and her delegation,” David Trulio, president and CEO of the foundation, said in a statement.
“We will not shy away from living up to President Reagan’s expectation that the library bearing his name be a ‘dynamic intellectual forum,’” he added.
Hudson Institute President John Walters said in a statement that the Chinese Communist Party “has a long history of attempting to silence voices, domestically and abroad, that oppose its international aggression and its oppression of the Chinese people.”
“It has not worked before, and it will not work now. We stand firmly with Taiwan and against the CCP and its ruthless, genocidal policies,” Walters added.
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