Ex-PM Liz Truss will visit Taiwan and give a speech next week

Ex-PM Liz Truss risks wrath of China by declaring she will visit Taiwan and give a speech next week

Liz Truss is risking the wrath of China by visiting Taiwan next week, it was revealed today.

The former PM will give a speech and meet senior members of the Taiwanese government.

Ms Truss said Taiwan is a ‘beacon of freedom and democracy’ and she wanted to show ‘solidarity’ amid repeated threats from China to take the island by force.

Beijing has long insisted that ‘official contacts’ with the self-governing republic must cease.

Last November there was a furious reaction when the UK sent then-trade minister Greg Hands to Taiwan for talks.

Liz Truss is risking the wrath of China by visiting Taiwan next week, it was revealed today

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has threatened to annex the island by force.

Beijing has sought to isolate the island diplomatically, imposing visa bans and other forms of retaliation against foreign officials and governments that have reached out in the past.

The island is excluded from the United Nations at China’s insistence.

However, it has drawn increasing backing from major nations, including Japan, Australia, the US and Canada, and across Europe.

Announcing her plans this morning, Ms Truss – now a Tory backbencher – said: ‘Taiwan is a beacon of freedom and democracy. 

‘I’m looking forward to showing solidarity with the Taiwanese people in person in the face of increasingly aggressive behaviour and rhetoric from the regime in Beijing.’

The high-profile trip will increase Tory pressure on Rishi Sunak to take a tough line against China.  

Beijing responded to a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year by firing missiles over Taiwan into the Western Pacific and positioning aircraft and ships nearby.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned China last month that invading Taiwan would destroy world trade.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has threatened to annex the island by force. Pictured, president Xi Jinping

‘Britain’s longstanding position is that we want to see a peaceful settlement of the differences across the Strait,’ the Foreign Secretary said in his Mansion House speech.

‘A war across the Strait would not only be a human tragedy, it would destroy world trade worth 2.6trillion dollars, according to the Nikkei Asia.

‘No country could shield itself from the repercussions.

‘Distance would offer no protection from this catastrophic blow to the global economy – and indeed to China most of all.

‘I shudder to contemplate the human and financial ruin that would follow. So it is essential that no party takes unilateral action to change the status quo.’

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