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China Fires Back at 'Washed-Up' Liz Truss Over Taiwan Speech
China Fires Back at 'Washed-Up' Liz Truss Over Taiwan Speech
Sputnik International
Truss has become the most senior British politician to visit Taiwan since former UK PM Margaret Thatcher made the journey to the island in the 1990s.
2023-05-17T09:50+0000
2023-05-17T09:50+0000
2023-06-19T12:46+0000
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Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has urged her successor Rishi Sunak to designate China a "threat" to her country’s national security.In a speech in Taiwan's capital Taipei on Wednesday, Truss called on the British prime minister to deliver on language he used during last summer's Conservative Party leadership contest. At the time, he described China as the "biggest long-term threat to Britain," while also pledging to close all of Beijing's Confucius Institutes in the UK.“He was right and we need to see those policies enacted urgently. The UK's integrated review needs to be amended to state clearly that China is a threat. Confucius Institutes should be closed down immediately. Instead the service could be provided by organizations with the support of Hong Kong nationals and Taiwanese nationals who have come to the UK on a free basis,” the ex-UK PM pointed out.She warned the West against working with China, in her condemnation of “totalitarian regimes.” "We know what happens to the environment or world health under totalitarian regimes that don't tell the truth - you can't believe a word they say," according to Truss.The former British PM claimed that China is "undertaking the biggest military build-up in peacetime history” and that “they have already made their choice about their strategy,” adding "the only choice we have is: do we appease and accommodate that strategy or do we take action now?" On Taiwan, she called for a "more coordinated approach” so that the island “has the defense it needs" in the face of China’s potential "invasion". She added that Western countries "need not to engage in further economic dialogue with China while it takes this aggressive stance."The statement followed the Chinese Embassy branding Truss’ visit to Taiwan as a "dangerous political show which will do nothing but harm to the UK."According to the Chinese diplomats, "By playing the 'Taiwan card' and engaging in political shows, Truss and the like are colluding with the 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces to provoke confrontation and escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait. What they did has fully revealed their sinister intentions."Truss visiting Taiwan makes her the most well-known UK politician to travel to the island since former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s trip in the 1990s. The five-day visit by Sunak’s predecessor to Taiwan comes as ties between Beijing and London are at their worst in decades.A new comprehensive review of the UK’s security, defense and foreign policy, in particular, refers to China as a threat to Taiwan.Beijing perceives Taiwan, which has been governed independently since 1949, as an unalienable part of China’s sovereign territory and opposes any official contacts between the island and other countries. Taipei insists that is an autonomous nation but stops short of declaring independence.Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.
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uk-taiwan ties, liz truss' visit to taiwan, uk-china tensions, truss' speech in taipei
uk-taiwan ties, liz truss' visit to taiwan, uk-china tensions, truss' speech in taipei
China Fires Back at 'Washed-Up' Liz Truss Over Taiwan Speech
09:50 GMT 17.05.2023 (Updated: 12:46 GMT 19.06.2023) Truss has become the most senior British politician to visit Taiwan since former UK PM Margaret Thatcher made the journey to the island in the 1990s.
Former UK Prime Minister
Liz Truss has urged her successor Rishi Sunak to designate China a "threat" to her country’s national security.
In a speech in Taiwan's capital Taipei on Wednesday, Truss called on the British prime minister to deliver on language he used during last summer's Conservative Party leadership contest. At the time, he described China as the "biggest long-term threat to Britain," while also pledging to close all of Beijing's Confucius Institutes in the UK.
“He was right and we need to see those policies enacted urgently. The UK's integrated review needs to be amended to state clearly that China is a threat. Confucius Institutes should be closed down immediately. Instead the service could be provided by organizations with the support of Hong Kong nationals and Taiwanese nationals who have come to the UK on a free basis,” the ex-UK PM pointed out.
She warned the West against working with China, in her condemnation of “totalitarian regimes.” "We know what happens to the environment or world health under totalitarian regimes that don't tell the truth - you can't believe a word they say," according to Truss.
The former British PM claimed that China is "undertaking the biggest military build-up in peacetime history” and that “they have already made their choice about their strategy,” adding "the only choice we have is: do we appease and accommodate that strategy or do we take action now?"
On Taiwan, she called for a "more coordinated approach” so that the island “has the defense it needs" in the face of China’s potential "invasion". She added that Western countries "need not to engage in further economic dialogue with China while it takes this aggressive stance."
The remarks сome as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that "washed-up British politicians use Taiwan to draw attention to themselves," in an apparent nod to Truss.
The statement followed the Chinese Embassy branding Truss’ visit to Taiwan as a "dangerous political show which will do nothing but harm to the UK."
"This provocative move has caused strong indignation among the Chinese people and will be firmly rejected by people with conscience from all walks of life," the embassy emphasized.
According to the Chinese diplomats, "By playing the 'Taiwan card' and engaging in political shows, Truss and the like are colluding with
the 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces to provoke confrontation and escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait. What they did has fully revealed their sinister intentions."
18 September 2022, 21:55 GMT
Truss visiting Taiwan makes her the most well-known UK politician to travel to the island since former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s trip in the 1990s. The five-day visit by Sunak’s predecessor to Taiwan comes as ties between Beijing and London are at their worst in decades.
A new
comprehensive review of the UK’s security, defense and foreign policy, in particular, refers to China as a threat to Taiwan.
Tensions between mainland China on the one hand, and Taiwan and countries boosting cooperation with the island on the other hand, escalated after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August 2022. Beijing condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and held large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island in a retaliation move.
Beijing perceives Taiwan, which has been governed independently since 1949, as an unalienable
part of China’s sovereign territory and opposes any official contacts between the island and other countries. Taipei insists that is an autonomous nation but stops short of declaring independence.
Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.
