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China Denied U.S. Lawmakers Visas Over Taiwan Visit

China Denied U.S. Lawmakers Visas Over Taiwan Visit

(Bloomberg) -- China denied entry visas to a U.S. congressional delegation, with Chinese officials telling one congressman’s staff members the visas would be granted for their trip only if they canceled a stop in Taiwan.

Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, a New York Democrat, said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the quid pro quo amounted to “visa blackmail, designed to stanch the longstanding tradition of robust U.S. congressional engagement with Taiwan.“

China Denied U.S. Lawmakers Visas Over Taiwan Visit

Maloney warned Beijing that “ham-handed and obtusely enforced pressure campaigns“ will only “invigorate congressional support for Taiwan.” He said he will be exploring ways for Congress to “reinforce U.S. support for Taiwan” in the coming months, though did not give any indication as to whether congressional leaders or the White House had signed on to his intentions.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since a nationalist government fled to Taipei more than 70 years ago during a civil war with Mao Zedong’s Communists. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and hasn’t ruled out military force to assert control over it.

U.S. support for Taiwan recently has been expanding, with Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, last week becoming the first U.S. senator to attend a National Day event in Taipei in 35 years.

Meanwhile, Senator Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, and Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu also wrote a commentary last week in the Washington-based Hill newspaper, calling for strengthening Taiwan-U.S. relations to counter rising Chinese influence in the Pacific.

To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Wallbank in Singapore at dwallbank@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chua Baizhen at bchua14@bloomberg.net, Steve Geimann

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