China says sanctions on Latin American ministers over Taiwan ties ‘a warning to others’

Filed 1h ago · Via Courthouse News · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Dvorak Polka

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

China's Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on Paraguay's communications minister and Belize's foreign minister over their countries' ties to Taiwan, freezing assets, denying visas and barring Chinese entities from doing business with them.

Spokeswoman Mao Ning said the move would 'penalize them and serve as a warning to others,' accusing the pair of acting as pawns for Taiwan's push toward independence. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry shot back that the sanctions were 'flagrant interference' in the sovereignty of independent nations.

The timing followed Taiwan's national day celebrations and a defense-focused speech by President Lai Ching-te, as well as visits by Paraguay's president to Taipei and Taiwan's foreign minister to Belize. Taiwan retains just twelve formal diplomatic allies worldwide.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

A country with the world's second largest economy taking aim at the foreign minister of Belize is a bit like a prizefighter squaring up to the neighbor's dog. The message was never really for Belize, it was for the other eleven countries watching to see what happens if you pick the wrong pen pal. Small nations get to learn, again, that friendship with Taiwan comes with a price tag attached by a much bigger customer.

Source: Read the original at Courthouse News → Scored: Dvorak Polka · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0