Rishi Sunak 'too busy' to watch Tory rival Liz Truss's Taiwan speech

17 May 2023 , 16:00

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Rishi Sunak dismissed his former leadership rival's speech (Image: Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak has claimed he is too "busy" to look at the details of 49-day Prime Minister Liz Truss's controversial speech in Taiwan.

The snub came after Ms Truss - Britain's shortest-serving PM who almost crashed the economy - lectured the West on the need to reduce "dependence" on Beijing.

In a speech that drew criticism from China, she said: "If Beijing keeps its word and escalates aggression towards Taiwan, substantial decoupling will be unavoidable."

She also challenged her successor Ms Sunak to deliver on the language he used in the summer Tory leadership contest, where he declared China the "biggest-long term threat to Britain".

But speaking en route to the G7 summit in Japan, Mr Sunak said: "So I haven't actually seen - I mean, you know, I was busy yesterday, which we should talk about separately - but so I haven't actually seen the details of it".

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Liz Truss walks with Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu upon her arrival at the Taoyuan airport in Taiwan (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

And he resisted Ms Truss's demands, saying: "Our approach to Taiwan is long-standing and it hasn't changed. And again, it's an approach that is completely aligned in substance and in language with all our allies.

He added: "I think that we have a very strong, unofficial relationship with Taiwan as our allies do. I think that our position is united and aligned with our allies, and will continue."

The former Tory leader's audience in Taipei City provoked a response from Beijing, with the Chinese embassy in the UK branding it a "provocative move".

The embassy urged her to stop defending Taiwanese independence or else "further expose herself as a failed politician and get more backlash from the Chinese people".

"British politician Liz Truss's recent visit to Taiwan is a dangerous political show which will do nothing but harm to the UK," an embassy spokesman said.

Last year the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan - leading China to stage a naval and air blockade.

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