Chinese authorities have this Thursday imposed an entry ban to the country on a group of New Zealand parliamentarians for their recent official visit to Taiwan, where they met with members of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, insisting that “whoever crosses the red line on the Taiwan issue will face the consequences.”
“A small number of New Zealand Members of Parliament, ignoring the serious concerns of the Chinese side, its firm opposition and repeated prior warnings, visited the Chinese region of Taiwan in their capacity as parliamentarians,” the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand said in a statement regarding the reprisals after the visit of MPs Maureen Pugh, Duncan Webb, Laura McClure and David Wilson, all from different parties within the parliamentary spectrum.
Thus, the Chinese diplomatic delegation criticized that during the trip they met with “several high-level local political figures, and their statements and actions were disseminated by local media, which caused serious negative political repercussions,” insisting that they sent “wrong signals” to Taiwanese leaders and to forces supporting the island’s independence.
“The actions of these parliamentarians violate the One China principle and constitute interference in China’s internal affairs,” it criticized.
In this way, it confirms that Beijing has adopted “measures against the individuals involved, including a ban on entry to China,” after noting that parliamentarians “are not ordinary citizens” and recalling that Chinese authorities “systematically” oppose visits to Taiwan by members of the legislative powers of countries that maintain diplomatic relations with China.
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“This case is no exception. The New Zealand side should not be surprised,” said the Chinese representation in Wellington, which urges to “genuinely respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and strictly uphold the One China principle.” “Whoever crosses the red line on the Taiwan issue will face the consequences,” it concludes.
For its part, New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stressed that the portfolio holder, Winston Peters, was “surprised” by the unprecedented decision to establish “travel bans on New Zealand parliamentarians as a result of a trip to Taiwan,” and has ordered New Zealand officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Trade, both in Beijing and Wellington, to address this issue with Chinese authorities, RNZ reports.
In this way, New Zealand representatives “will express their concern about this change from previous practice and hope to better understand it.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that Wellington has maintained its ‘One China’ policy for “more than half a century” and has argued that New Zealand parliamentarians have visited Taiwan “for decades,” stressing that “such visits are not incompatible” with the policy maintained by New Zealand until now.
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