China sanctions ministers of Paraguay, Belize over Taiwan support

China sanctioned Paraguay's Communications Minister Gustavo Villate and Belize's Foreign Minister Francis Fonseca on October 12 for supporting Taiwan. Sanctions include asset freezes and entry bans into mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. The US condemned the move as coercive. Taiwan called it an intrusion into other nations' sovereignty. It marks the first time Beijing directly targeted sitting cabinet members of Taiwan's allies.