The Chinese authorities communicated this Monday the adoption of sanctions against high-ranking officials from Paraguay and Belize in response to the diplomatic ties that both maintain with Taiwan, a territory that Beijing considers part of its national sovereignty.
The sanctioned are the Minister of Information and Communication Technologies of Paraguay, Gustavo Villate, and the Foreign Minister of Belize, Francis Fonseca. As a consequence, their assets and properties in China are frozen and the authorities of the Asian country will not process visas in their name.
Furthermore, any type of activity or commercial exchange with them by Chinese companies or organizations is banned, according to the statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.
The announcement comes just two days after the celebration of Taiwan's national day, an event that prompted public messages from Villate that have been harshly criticized by Beijing.
In those statements, Villate emphasized the relevance of "the self-determination of peoples," a concept particularly sensitive for the Chinese government, which advocates for reunification with the island and denounces "separatist" forces.
The president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, who on previous occasions has described Taiwan as a "fundamental partner" for his country, traveled to Taipei at the beginning of this year. During that visit, he signed several agreements on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, cooperation in cybersecurity, and investment projects in artificial intelligence and computing.
For its part, last month the Taiwanese Foreign Minister, Lin Chia Lung, traveled to Belize, where both parties committed to strengthening their relations, as reported at that time by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan.
In the American continent, Taiwan's other diplomatic partners are Guatemala and Haiti, in addition to various island states in the Caribbean with which it maintains official ties.