Taipei: Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the United States, has been subject to new sanctions from China that forbid her and her family from entering the mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau, according to state media on Friday.

The sanctions, which were announced by China's Taiwan Affairs Office, also forbid Hsiao-related investors and businesses from collaborating with entities and people on the mainland.

They follow the meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which took place this week while Tsai Ing-wen was visiting the US.

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Hsiao tweeted in response to the news, "Wow, the PRC (People's Republic of China) just sanctioned me again, for the second time."

Similar sanctions were also imposed by China on the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, an international coalition that Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) co-founded in 1993, and The Prospect Foundation, which is run by a former foreign minister of Taiwan.

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According to state media, China's Taiwan Affairs Office charged the organisations with advocating "Taiwan independence" abroad.

After former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August of last year, China imposed sanctions including an entry ban on seven Taiwanese officials and lawmakers, including Hsiao, accusing them of being "independence diehards," drawing criticism from the island's democratically run government.

Taiwan is not viewed as a separate nation by China but rather as its own territory. China's claim is disputed by Taiwan's government.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, Secretary-General of Taiwan's National Security Council Wellington Koo, and DPP politicians are also included on the August sanctions list.

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Since senior Taiwanese officials don't travel to China and Chinese courts don't have jurisdiction in Taiwan, Chinese sanctions will have little practical effect.
Reporters were told by DPP lawmaker Chao Tien-lin that Hsiao's sanctions were "absurd." At the parliament, he told reporters, "This won't affect her."