China has imposed sanctions
China has imposed sanctions on Paraguay’s Minister of Communications and Belize’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. The measures include visa bans, the freezing of assets in China, and a ban on Chinese organisations doing business with the ministers. The two politicians are said to have advocated for the maintenance of diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Paraguay and Belize are among the twelve countries that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China regards as part of its own national territory.
Beijing’s broader efforts
The sanctions are part of Beijing’s broader efforts to persuade countries to adopt the One China policy. Over the past decade, China has already succeeded in doing so with ten states, mostly from South and Central America or the Pacific island nations, through political pressure and economic incentives. Fewer and fewer countries can afford to prioritise relations with Taiwan over relations with the influential and economically stronger China. The sanctions against the two ministers are less an effective means of persuading them than a signal to all of Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners that maintaining this relationship can carry costs. The case demonstrates once again how important Taiwan’s international status is to the Chinese government, and that China is employing coercive, non-military measures to pursue its foreign policy objectives.
