Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss urged her successor Rishi Sunak from Taipei on Wednesday (May 17th) to stand firm with China on issues such as Taiwan, describing the island as an example of "enduring rejection of totalitarianism".
On a five-day visit to Taiwan, Liz Truss criticized Rishi Sunak and other Western governments for being too complacent towards Beijing.
Strategic 'threat'
The Conservative, who remained less than 50 days in power in London last year and still an MP, has asked her successor to respect her campaign promise and describe Beijing as a strategic "threat" to the United Kingdom. She also called on him to "immediately" close Beijing-controlled branches of the Confucius Institute in the UK and replace them with cultural centers run by people from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
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Some say they don't want to engage in another Cold War. But we are not in a position to make that choice. Because China has already embarked on a battle for self-sufficiency, whether or not we want to free ourselves from its economy," Truss told the Prospect Foundation in Taipei.
She accused Rishi Sunak like other Western governments of "trying to hold on to the idea of being able to cooperate with China on issues like climate change, as if everything is fine (in China)." "But without freedom and democracy, there is nothing else. We know what happens to the environment or health under totalitarian regimes that don't tell the truth," she said. "You can't believe a word of what they say." She added at a press conference that it was "absolutely clear" that Chinese President Xi Jinping "aspires to take Taiwan." "We don't know exactly when that might happen and we don't know how," she continued, "all we can do is make sure Taiwan is as protected as possible."
'Dangerous political spectacle'
Beijing considers Taiwan, population 23 million, a province it has yet to reunite with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. China, which says it favours peaceful reunification with Taiwan, does not rule out the use of force to achieve this.
Liz Truss's trip to Taiwan was strongly condemned by Beijing. The Chinese embassy in London called it "a dangerous political spectacle that will only harm the UK." "Ms. Truss and her ilk are making pacts with the secessionist 'Taiwan independence' forces to trigger a confrontation and escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait," a Chinese embassy spokesman said in a statement.
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Since leaving office, forced to resign after plunging the country into economic and financial uncertainty with a budget deemed unfunded, Liz Truss has made a series of trips abroad, to Tokyo, Washington or Copenhagen. His visit to Taiwan "is the worst example of diplomacy on Instagram," British Foreign Affairs Committee chair Alicia Kearns lashed out in the Guardian, adding that it would only worsen the problems for the island. Liz Truss defended herself Wednesday by explaining that she was invited by Taipei, "better placed to understand what helps Taiwan".
Tension has risen sharply in recent months with Beijing organizing large military maneuvers near the island. China views with dissatisfaction the rapprochement in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States, which, despite the absence of official relations, provides the island with substantial military support.