Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss has not harmed Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry in the wake of a scandal involving Truss’ lobbying for the sale of British defense equipment to China.
Truss’ private correspondence obtained by POLITICO shows that Truss was lobbying a British official to greenlight the sale of demining equipment manufactured in her district to China. The move not only seemed to run counter to Truss’ hardline public stance against China, but experts also say the equipment could be useful to China in an invasion of Taiwan. Truss had previously visited Taiwan in May last year, in support of Taiwan and calling out Chinese aggression.
The Foreign Ministry had previously declined to comment on the controversy. However, on Thursday, ministry Spokesperson Jeff Liu (劉永健) said that he has not seen any words or deeds from Truss that have harmed Taiwan. He says that when Truss visited Taiwan last year, her position as a “China hawk” was clearly demonstrated. He adds that Truss has called on all countries to help Taiwan strengthen its self-defense capabilities, and has repeatedly expressed support for Taiwan.