China sanctions Ronald Reagan Presidential Library amid Tsai visit
Misty Severi
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China sanctioned the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the Hudson Institute on Friday in retaliation for Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the library in Southern California this week.
China warned its constituents not to do business with the Simi Valley-based library or the Hudson think tank. Chinese officials said the sanctions were because the organizations “provid[ed] a platform and convenience to Taiwan separatist activities.”
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Tsai had accepted an award from the Hudson Institute while on her overseas trip and met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) at the Reagan Library. She also gave a speech about Taiwan’s challenges in regional security.
“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,” the Hudson Institute said in a statement. “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 and we remain steadfast in promoting the security, freedom, and prosperity of America and its allies.”
The Chinese government also sanctioned Sarah May Stern, chairwoman of the Hudson Institute board of directors, John Walters, the institute’s director, John Heubusch, former executive director of the Reagan Foundation, and Joanne Drake, the foundation’s chief administrator, barring them from visiting China and freezing any property or financial assets belonging to them in China.
“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 Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement.
The sanctions come as ties between the United States and China sinks to its lowest levels in decades. The U.S. still observes its “One China” policy, which recognizes mainland China as the only official government of China, despite Taiwan’s break from the mainland, and designating itself as a sovereign state following a civil war in 1949.
The U.S. does not have an official relationship with Taiwan because of its split, but Washington, D.C., ensures the island has the means to defend itself if attacked by China. There are also informal and commercial ties between the two countries.
Ties between China and the U.S. began deteriorating last year when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island. Another group of lawmakers flew to Taiwan on Thursday, with plans to meet with Tsai on Sunday. Legislators from European parliaments have also visited the island.
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Two think tanks in Asia and the Taiwan representative in the U.S. have also been sanctioned by the Chinese government.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Reagan library for comment.