Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss warns of China threats during Taiwan visit
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss has warned of the economic and political threats posed to the West by China during a visit to Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss warned of the economic and political threats to the West posed by China during a visit Wednesday to Beijing's democratic rival Taiwan.
Truss is the first former British prime minister since Margaret Thatcher in the 1990s to visit the self-governing island republic that China claims as its own territory, to be conquered by force if necessary.
Still a sitting member of the House of Commons, Truss follows a growing list of elected representatives and former officials from the U.S., EU nations and elsewhere who have visited Taiwan to show their defiance of China’s threats and attempts to cut off the island and its high-tech economy from the international community.
“There are those who say they don’t want another Cold War. But this is not a choice we are in a position to make. Because China has already embarked on a self-reliance drive, whether we want to decouple from their economy or not," Truss said in an address to the Prospect Foundation at a hotel in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei.
