China pressing European countries to bar Taiwan politicians or face crossing a ‘red line’

The unusual move urging European countries not to grant visas to Taiwanese figures fits with Beijing’s long-running strategy of using all possible means to deter closer cooperation with Taiwan, an analyst said. Photograph: Jason Lee/Reuters

Chinese officials have been pushing “legal advice” on European countries, saying their own border laws require them to ban entry to Taiwanese politicians, according to more than half a dozen diplomats and officials familiar with the matter.

The officials made demarches to European embassies in Beijing, or through local embassies directly to European governments in their capital cities, warning the European countries not to “trample on China’s red lines”, according to the European diplomats and ministries who spoke to the Guardian.