Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has criticised China for the threat it poses to both free societies such as Taiwan and the wider West. Speaking on her recent visit to Taiwan, she urged supporters of freedom and democracy to ensure the region was as protected as possible to dissuade China from taking it by force. China has accused Truss of indulging in dangerous political antics and has condemned the visit. Taiwan, which has been self-ruled since a civil war with the Chinese mainland after World War II, remains highly vulnerable to Beijing's aggression and military might.
New Taipei mayor Hou Yu-ih has been picked as the Kuomintang's presidential candidate to run in January's Taiwanese presidential elections. The opposition party, seen as mainland-friendly, chose Hou over billionaire Foxconn founder Terry Gou, who analysts believed stood a superior chance. One of the mayor's primary challenges will be in unifying a KMT party that could be split if Gou does not publicly get behind Hou.
Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang party has chosen New Taipei City mayor, Hou Yu-ih, as its presidential candidate in the election next year, where China tensions will be a key issue. Hou won a landslide re-election victory in December 2018 in New Taipei City, while the KMT trounced the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. He is said to be a "tender tough guy", and has a degree in crime prevention and corrections. Hou has rarely voiced his stance on Taiwan's relations with China, but has said he objects to Taiwan's formal independence and Beijing's "one country, two systems" offer.
The Group of Seven (G7) is discussing "economic coercion" ahead of the Hiroshima summit with China in mind. A central theme in the upcoming conference is increasing economic security with greater international cooperation to reduce dependence on China for supplying strategically important goods, such as semiconductors, materials for electric vehicle batteries, and pharmaceuticals. China has increasingly adopted this tactic, putting import tariffs on Australian produce following its call for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19, and blocking trade with Lithuania after the opening of an office in Taipei. The G7 meeting is expected to result in policy documents on specific policies, including economic security.
The Chinese embassy in London has warned that Britain risks "serious consequences" after former PM Liz Truss's high-profile visit to Taiwan. Truss is the first former British leader to visit the island since Margaret Thatcher in 1996. Truss urged the UK to use “hard power” to deter China and to "get real" about military cooperation with Taiwan. Beijing called it a “dangerous political show”. Britain amended its foreign and defence policy in March to describe China as a “epoch-defining challenge”.
Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party has chosen 61-year-old Hou Yu-ih, currently Taiwan's mayor of New Taipei City, as its presidential candidate for January elections, where he will come up against incumbent Vice President William Lai of the pro-independence governing Democratic Progressive Party, in what will be seen as a referendum on the troubled island's future relations with China. The Nationalists are seen as preferring closer ties with mainland China. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has repeatedly threatened to take the island by force. Hou has concentrated on successful local politics and enjoys significant public support.
Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, who served from September to October 2022, has embarked on a globe-trotting tour, using her status to call on Western leaders to face up to China. Truss is calling for an “economic NATO” to form, one that would focus on countries facing resistance from Chinese interests. The former prime minister has recently appeared at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit and, days later, as a guest of the Taiwanese government. Her policy proposals have met with approval from foreign policy hawks. However, Truss' vision of low taxes may not sit well with others in her Conservative Party. She is emblematic of the challenges of politics without policy, with her approach still too common in the Tory Party. There are also concerns that the former prime minister may be viewed by China as representing the UK government. Thatcher was the last to visit Taiwan in 1996.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rejected demands from the country's international trade secretary Liz Truss that the UK should support Taiwanese entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). On his diplomatic mission to Japan, Sunak maintained the long-standing UK approach to Taiwan and indicated that a “united and aligned” stance with allies would be maintained. The UK-China relationship has soured as disputes surrounding trade, security and human rights rise.
The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party will nominate New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih as its candidate for Taiwan’s 2024 presidential elections. The party announced its choice through a closed nomination process, which was not favoured by Hou. This may have led to unresolved grudges within the KMT that could eat into voter turnout and impact Hou's support. The selection has ended speculation over whether business tycoon Terry Gou would run as an independent candidate and split the pan-Blue vote.
Hou’s moderate stance may have led to distrust among the KMT. The party fears the rise of another benshengren politician, following former party chair Lee Teng-hui, and the shift towards pan-Green sympathies. Hou has tried to position himself against both the Democratic Progressive Party’s Taiwanese independence and China’s “one country, two systems”. The KMT has also struggled to localise and shed its pro-China image, resulting in a blow-up during the party’s effort to select its legislative nominees.
Taiwan People’s Party chair, former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, is expected to split the pan-Blue vote and result in a pan-Green victory. Vice President William Lai is the Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate and is set to focus on Hou’s past as a police officer during the authoritarian period, particularly with regard to events leading to Nylon Deng’s self-immolation and death during that period.
Former UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has refused to apologise for financial turbulence triggered during his time in office with Liz Truss. These results included raised mortgage rates amid market uncertainty caused by Kwarteng's mini-budget, which Truss's successor and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt moved to counteract. Kwarteng refused to apologise, instead calling for loyalty to the Tory party leader while suggesting cutting taxes in a careful but inventive way. Truss's brief time as prime minister came to an end after her budget reportedly cost British taxpayers tens of billions of pounds and resulted in Bank of England intervention to prevent pension fund collapse.
Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has called on the "free world" to support Taiwan, and urged Britain to rethink its economic ties with China. Speaking during a five-day visit to the island, Truss said: "Things are shifting. If you remember, under the David Cameron and George Osborne era we were talking about the golden era with China." The comments come at a time of heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, and amid growing international scrutiny of China over issues such as human rights and its handling of the pandemic.
Taiwan is still hoping to receive an invitation to the World Health Organisation’s annual assembly, which commences on 21 May in Geneva, despite China still opposing the invitation of the democratically governed island. Despite opposition, several of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies have issued statements offering support for their participation, allowing for several bilateral meetings with the country. In response to China blocking Taiwan’s World Health Assembly participation in 2017, Taiwan pursued a diplomatic campaign to attend the global health forum as an observer. Researchers have suggested that Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO could have hindered efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss's trip to Taiwan and her hardline stance against China's communist rulers is consistent with her previous stance on China being a threat to Britain’s national security. Truss's assessment of the threat Beijing poses to Taiwan's future independence, as well as the wider world, deserves serious consideration. Concerns are raised about the pace of submarine construction, with the UK on average building only one nuclear submarine every five years. Even with Aukus, a UK-US-Australia alliance to build new capabilities and alliances to counter the Chinese threat, the alliance has a lot of catching up to do if it is to pose a credible counter-balance to China’s military expansion.
China has seen an increase in the number of "patient companions," people who go to medical appointments with patients. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and China's strict zero COVID rules which prohibit travel from province to province, friends could no longer chaperone ill family members to hospital visits. As a result, patient companions became increasingly popular, taking the place of adult children who live too far away or cannot take time off work. Hundreds of videos of companions advertising their services can be found on Little Red Book, a lifestyle platform, or Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. These videos detail the difficulties of finding a hospital appointment and, once an appointment has been made, the long waiting times. However, there is some reticence related to this emerging industry; doctors are not always comfortable with the idea of paid companions and, in some cases, the children of the patients who hire companions do not want their parents to know that someone is being paid to accompany them to the hospital.
Ukraine's use of an advanced version of the US-made Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile system to intercept Russian hypersonic rockets is being closely watched by Taiwanese officials. However, there is debate as to whether the PAC-3 system would be effective in the event of an attack launched by China. Ukraine meanwhile has not confirmed that it used PAC-3 to shoot down Russian missiles, though the US military said the system had been used. China is known to have deployed at least 1,200 short-range ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan, including missiles equipped with hypersonic glide vehicles.
The leaders of the G7 industrialised nations have gathered in the Japanese city of Hiroshima for their annual summit. The meeting is expected to focus on the West's relationship with China, as well as Russia's war in Ukraine and the ongoing global economic uncertainties. To avoid possible “economic blackmail”, G7 leaders are expected to diversify their supply chains and markets, but are not aiming to “decouple” from China. In terms of military activity, discussions will include China’s behaviour in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, yet Robert Ward, director of geo-economics and strategy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, believes that the G7 nations are unlikely to agree on specific measures to counteract China's power in the Indo-Pacific.
China is fighting a diplomatic "great game" for global dominance by amassing political and economic influence with countries that are underdeveloped, nondemocratic or share the same resentment towards the US-led international order. Beijing's recent diplomatic offensive to actively enlist countries to help overthrow and remold the international order has become increasingly aggressive since President Xi Jinping took power. The aim of China's strategy is to attract the most supporters so it can shape the system from the inside out.
Many developing countries have significant economic and political needs that require support from a leading global power and investment in infrastructure, which China is happy to fill. To compete with China, the US must do a better job of telling its story in the developing world, preserve American dominance in economic and military realms, and offer an alternative to countries turning to China. Developing countries are less likely to side with China if they feel secure that the US will remain the dominant power. The US must help fill the economic and political needs of developing countries and provide them with that alternative, while at the same time ensuring that its investment satisfies development needs.
China has been increasing its aggression towards Taiwan in response to visits from US officials. After Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in April, China's People’s Liberation Army Air Force and Navy conducted large-scale military exercises. The activity continued at a lower level than before the visit but included the release of animated videos of missile launches against Taiwan, indicating that China has identified targets in Taiwan to destroy in an invasion. Overall, the activity has fuelled concerns over a possible conflict and experts predict that the exercises are geared towards preparing for that possibility.
China is to allow tour groups from Taiwan to visit, in a move aimed at increasing exchange with the island. The proposal was given a cautious welcome, with tourism associations in Taiwan planning to open up discussions about the possibility of reciprocal measures. The move comes before a crucial Taiwanese presidential election next year, with the Kuomintang party being more China friendly and the Communist Party keen to woo them. The ban on Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan remains in place.
Former UK Conservative MP Liz Truss's recent visit to Taiwan risks turning Taipei's quest for visibility into a Dutch auction as it attempts to counter Beijing’s intimidation and haemorrhaging of formal diplomatic support, said James Lee in The Diplomat. Taiwan risks coming across as a circus act by upstaging and obscuring officials from official diplomatic relations. Truss's visit called for "hard-power" support for Taiwan in the face of China's "authoritarianism" and provoked criticism from the UK's Foreign Affairs Select Committee chair Alicia Kearns, calling it "the worst example of Instagram diplomacy". The UK's official Taiwan policy should not be confused with informal links, as it has walked a fine line on Taiwan since switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1950.
