TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is on the frontline of the struggle against China and authoritarian regimes around the world, former United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss said in a keynote speech in Taipei on Wednesday (May 16) morning.
Speaking in the heart of the capital city’s financial district near the iconic Taipei 101, at the invitation of the think tank Prospect Foundation, Truss called Taiwan a “shining beacon” of democracy and praised the “brave leadership” of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). She added the battle for Taiwan’s future with China was the most “consequential struggle of our time” and critical for the future of the world.
She challenged Western nations and democracies to decouple from China economically and support Taiwan militarily. She proposed an “economic NATO” of “free nations working together” to take on China when it came to trade and investment because the U.N. Security Council and World Trade Organization could no longer be trusted.
Truss said her five-day visit — the first from a former British leader to Taiwan since Margaret Thatcher in 1992 — provided the opportunity to communicate the “solidarity that British people feel for the people of Taiwan.” She added the nation was a direct challenge to everything the Chinese Communist Party stood for.
Truss said: “People here in Taiwan are better off than they are in mainland China. They’re freer than they are in mainland China. And they're happier than they are in mainland China.”
Calling herself an admirer of Taiwan, Truss was scathing of China and its ambitions. She pointed to China’s aggressions and daily incursions around Taiwan, comparing the country to Russia and its invasion of Ukraine.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss in Taipei. (Taiwan News, Jules Quartly photo)
“A blockade or an invasion of Taiwan would undermine freedom and democracy in Europe, just as a Russian invasion of Ukraine, a successful domination of Ukraine, would undermine freedom and democracy in the Pacific.”
“Where we are today in Taipei is on the front line of the global battle for freedom. The Chinese Communist Party is engaged in an ideological struggle with the free world and they have been very open and clear about that.
“They see our way of life, our way of operating, as a threat. And they’re openly in league with some of the worst regimes in the world, whether it's Putin's Russia, Iran, or North Korea.”
Truss said, “The only choice we have is do we appease and accommodate that strategy or do we take action now to prevent conflict.”
Referencing the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, delays and secrecy when it came to the COVID pandemic, she said China could not be trusted. This is why it is imperative that China apologists, many of whom have a financial interest, should be ignored and the hegemon's threats should be faced head-on.
“They're not successfully taken on by accommodation, appeasement or from adopting a position of weakness. They're taken on through strength,” Truss commented.
She called on Western nations to support Taiwan militarily: “We cannot pretend that we have meaningful deterrence without hard power. And if we're serious about preventing conflict in the South China Sea, we need to get real about military and defense cooperation. That's why I believe initiatives like AUKUS are so important.”
She also called on the U.K. to fast track Taiwan’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, and other international organizations. She underlined that the CPTPP was a vital geopolitical and economic platform for Taiwan.
Truss additionally referenced Taiwan’s non-U.N. status by saying that she had wanted to visit Taiwan before but “as a government minister, I was heavily restricted. And maybe we can all blame that on President Nixon.” Under Nixon, the U.S. switched recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 and Truss made clear she thought this was a huge mistake.
She ended her speech by saying: “Taiwan really is a shining beacon in the Pacific. It’s an enduring rebuke to totalitarianism. It’s an example of the power of free enterprise and it shows the importance of a free society for human happiness.”
“We in the United Kingdom and right across the world, need to do all we can to support you over the coming years. Your future is our future.”
Liz Truss poses for pictures after making a speech at Grand Hyatt in Taipei on Wednesday. (Taiwan News, Jules Quartly photo)