China to impose sanctions on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(KYMA, KECY/ NBC News) - China announced today that it will be imposing sanctions on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her visit to Taiwan earlier this week.
China's Foreign Ministry announced the decision to sanction Pelosi and members of her family in a statement Friday morning, calling her recent actions "provocative" and "vicious".
Also saying the visit "seriously interfered in China's internal affairs, undermined China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, trampled on the one-China policy, and threatened the peace and stability of the Taiwan strait".
Prior to news of the sanctions, Pelosi made remarks on the final leg of her Asia tour in Tokyo, saying China would not isolate Taiwan by preventing U.S. officials from traveling there.
"We have said from the start that our representation here is not about changing the status quo here and in Asia, or changing the status quo of Taiwan. It's about, again, the Taiwan Relations Act, the US-China policy, all of the pieces of legislation and agreements that have have established what our relationship is, to have peace in the Taiwan Straits and to have the status quo prevail. "