Mike Gallagher 

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday that it will take countermeasures in accordance with the law against Mike Gallagher, a former US Representative from Wisconsin and former US congressman, for his frequent words and actions over the past years that have interfered in China's internal affairs, undermined China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and infringed on China's interests.

The countermeasures consist of freezing of the former US lawmaker's movable, immovable and other types of assets in China, prohibiting organizations and individuals in China from engaging in relevant transactions and cooperation with him, and denying visas and entry into China, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

Gallagher, who previously served as chairman of the House of Representatives Select Committee on China, has pushed through a series of anti-China bills including one forcing Chinese tech company ByteDance to divest short-video app TikTok or see it banned in the US. 

He also led a congressional delegation to visit China's Taiwan region in February and declared during the trip that no matter who wins the upcoming US election, support for Taiwan will not change, media previously reported.

This China hawk's inflammatory Taiwan visit triggered strong criticism from Chinese observers, who view the visit as a brazen provocation that could spark yet another cross-Straits crisis. They also slammed the former congressman, who announced his resignation before the end of his term, of pursuing personal gain at the expense of delicate China-US relations.

Gallagher is the main initiator and advocator behind a series of recent US legislations targeting China, and it is reasonable for China to impose certain sanctions on him, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Less than a month after leaving Congress, Gallagher has a new job at TitletownTech, a US venture capital firm that is a partnership between the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft. The company announced in May that Gallagher will serve as a "senior strategic advisor" as part of the firm's advisory team.

After he steps into the business community, those who have business connection with him might have some concerns with these sanctions in place. If the sanctions are strictly enforced, those who transact with him, including individuals and institutions, could be affected, Chinese observers said.  

Dubbed the top House China hawk, Gallagher, 40, was a member of both the House Armed Services and intelligence committees, has spent much of his time chairing the Select Committee on the Communist Party of China, a bipartisan panel charged with investigating US relations with China and developing strategies to help improve the country's ability to compete with China. 

These sanctions are more symbolic in nature as Gallagher is unlikely to have assets in China, so the move mainly is a political statement, sort of like declaring him persona non grata. This also closes off a path, making it impossible for Gallagher to engage in any business related to China in the future, limiting his opportunities, Lü noted.