Elected officials in California and Taiwan’s diplomats in the state, both criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) coercive measures targeting diplomatic exchanges between American and Taiwanese officials.

California State Assemblyman Tri Ta released a statement on March 12 accusing the Chinese consulate in San Francisco of improperly pressuring him and demanding that he refrain from involvement in diplomatic affairs between Taiwan and the United States.

In his statement, Ta strongly condemned the consulate’s behavior.

“Let me be very clear: California elected officials do not take orders from the Chinese Communist Party,” he said. “It is deeply inappropriate for a foreign authoritarian government to attempt to intimidate American public officials over who we meet with or what we post.”

Director General Wu Chih-hsiang of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco (TECO-SF) visited the California State Capitol in Sacramento on March 10 to meet with several members of the state legislature, TECO-SF told The Epoch Times. After the meeting, TECO-SF posted photos on social media showing Wu and Ta together.

Ta’s office reposted the photos on its own social media account. After that, the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco contacted Ta’s office and warned him that he should not interfere in diplomatic affairs, according to Ta’s statement.

Ta said in his statement: “Taiwan is a vibrant democracy, a critical economic partner, and a close friend of the United States. I will always be proud to stand with the Taiwanese people and recognize their representatives. ... The Chinese Communist Party has a long track record of trying to silence critics and pressure institutions around the world. Those tactics may work under authoritarian rule in Beijing, but they have no place in the United States.”

He said the CCP’s complaint “only reinforces why it is so important to stand with Taiwan and against authoritarian intimidation.”

“If Beijing thinks that complaining to my office will make me back down, they are mistaken,” Ta stated.

Wu told The Epoch Times that the Taiwanese government maintains a strong bilateral relationship with the state of California. Officials from the office frequently interact with both the California state government and the state legislature.

Wu said his trip to Sacramento last week aimed to further strengthen bilateral ties, particularly cooperation and exchanges in trade, technology, and cultural affairs.

He said this isn’t the first time Chinese consulate officials have attempted to intimidate local governments and officials to block Taiwan from developing bilateral relations there; these types of incidents have occurred in Europe, Japan, and several U.S. states. He noted that the CCP’s use of long-arm jurisdiction and transnational repression around the world has already been widely documented.

Wu said such incidents “not only fail to have any effect on U.S. officials who uphold the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights; but instead will lead to even stronger development of relations between Taiwan and the United States.”

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) serves as Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the United States. TECO’s office in San Francisco is responsible for managing governmental and people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and Northern California as well as the states of Utah and Nevada.

Ta, a Republican, represents California’s 70th Assembly District. In his statement, Ta said that his district is “home to diverse communities that include many residents who came to the United States after fleeing authoritarian regimes and who deeply value democracy and freedom.”