A view of the Taipei city, Taiwan island Photo: Unsplash

China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday imposed sanctions on the anti-China US lawmaker Michael McCaul, who has frequently interfered in China's internal affairs and sent wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatists.

The countermeasures, coming into force from Thursday, include freezing McCaul's property, including movable and immovable property, in China. In accordance with China's Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, no organizations and individuals in China are allowed to conduct transactions or cooperate with him, and McCaul himself will be banned from getting a visa or entering China.

Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican representative and House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, has frequently interfered in China's internal affairs in both word and deed, damaging China's interests in recent years, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry in an announcement.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry pointed out that McCaul's recent sneak visit to the Taiwan region has seriously violated China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and sent wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatists.

McCaul visited the island of Taiwan on April 6, one day after US house speaker Kevin McCarthy defied China by meeting with the Taiwan's secessionist regional leader Tsai Ing-wen in California. On Sunday, McCaul said that China could take over the Taiwan region in the next election "without a shot fired" in response to a question about if the people there wanted a military confrontation. 

McCaul is regarded as one of the biggest anti-China hawks who often hypes the "China threat" while backing Taiwan secessionists. In January 2022, he said the Chinese mainland would "invade" the island of Taiwan some time after the then soon-to-be-held Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. In January 2023, he also agreed with a prediction that the US will be at war with Beijing in 2025 over the Taiwan question. 

In August 2021, the Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed McCaul for claiming that there is a preponderance of evidence that the COVID-19 virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology some time before September 2019.

Diao Daming, an associate professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday that the sanctions against McCaul are another highly targeted countermeasure against the anti-China vanguard, and could deter other US congressmen from attempting to provoke China with the "Taiwan card."

According to Diao, with Republican hawks taking control of the US House of Representatives, it's necessary to crack down on actions that challenge China's red line and use Taiwan as a pawn to control China, whether they are motivated by competition with China, bias against Chinese values, or internal partisan rivalry. 

"Sanctions will also show the world China's determination and confidence… and provocative actions on the Taiwan question will not go unpunished, crossing the red lines will result in firm Chinese countermeasures," Diao said.