China’s foreign ministry announced sanctions on Monday against Paraguay’s communications minister Gustavo Villate and Belize’s foreign minister Francis Fonseca over their countries’ ties with Taiwan, per Al Jazeera. The measures, effective the same day, freeze any assets the two hold in China, deny them entry visas to Hong Kong and Macau, and prohibit Chinese organisations and individuals from transactions or cooperation with them. Beijing said the ministers had taken a series of egregious actions and statements damaging China’s core interests, two days after Taiwan’s National Day, which Villate marked with a social media post reaffirming Paraguay’s friendship with Taiwan. Paraguay and Belize are two of 12 countries that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
China sanctions Paraguay and Belize ministers over Taiwan ties
China sanctioned the communications minister of Paraguay and the foreign minister of Belize on Monday over their countries' diplomatic ties with Taiwan, freezing their assets in China and barring Chinese entities from transactions with them.
Why it matters: The move escalates Beijing's pressure on Taiwan's remaining 12 diplomatic allies, two of them in Latin America, days after both ministers publicly marked Taiwan's National Day.
Data as of Monday, October 12, 2026: single-source account (Al Jazeera, opened and read in full) of the Chinese foreign ministry announcement; the sanctions' scope and the ministry's stated reasons are Beijing's account, not yet independently corroborated.
Sources
- China sanctions Paraguay, Belize ministers over Taiwan ties · Al Jazeera · 2026-10-12