On a visit to Taiwan on Wednesday, former British Prime Minister Liz Truss urged her successor to get tough with China on issues such as Taiwan, describing the democratic island as "an enduring rebuke to totalitarianism."
China considers self-ruled Taiwan to be its territory, to be taken one day by force if necessary, and strongly opposes any formal engagement with the island — including by high-profile foreign political figures.
Truss, who is on a five-day visit to Taiwan, accused U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Western governments of "trying to cling on to the idea that we can cooperate with China on issues like climate change, as if there is nothing wrong."