Truss accused of 'Instagram diplomacy' by senior Tory over Taiwan trip

Liz Truss accused of ‘Instagram diplomacy’ by senior Tory over ‘unhelpful’ plan to visit Taiwan that sparked fury from China

• Alicia Kearns said the trip was ‘performative’ and risked escalating tensions 
• Ms Truss will give a speech to show ‘solidarity’ with the island nation

Liz Truss has been accused of ‘Instagram diplomacy’ by a fellow Tory MP over her plan to visit Taiwan.

Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the trip announced by the former prime minister last week was ‘performative’ and risked escalating the island state’s fragile relationship with China.

Last night Victor Gao, a media spokesman for the Chinese Communist Party, suggested the visit could raise tensions.

Ms Kearns told the Guardian that Ms Truss’s trip was ‘the worst kind of example of Instagram diplomacy’.

‘It is deeply unhelpful because it escalates the normal situation in Taiwan,’ Kearns told the paper.

‘Taiwanese people already have to live with more Chinese military manoeuvres because of Nancy Pelosi’s visit. Liz Truss doesn’t have any influence any more – this is more about keeping herself relevant.’

However, a spokesman for Ms Truss hit back at the remarks, saying: ‘The former prime minister has been invited to visit by the Taiwan government. They are better placed to know what is in the interests of the Taiwanese people than the MP for Rutland.’

Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the trip announced by the former prime minister last week was ‘performative’ and risked escalating the island state’s fragile relationship with China.

Ms Truss will give a speech to show ‘solidarity’ with the island in the face of ‘increasingly aggressive behaviour’ from China (aircraft carrier pictured), which claims it as its own sovereign territory.

She is also expected to meet Taiwanese government officials. Pictured is Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen

Ms Truss will give a speech to show ‘solidarity’ with the island in the face of ‘increasingly aggressive behaviour’ from China, which claims it as its own sovereign territory. She is also expected to meet Taiwanese government officials. 

Taiwan and China split in 1949 following a civil war that ended with the Communist Party in control of the mainland. Taiwan has never been part of the People’s Republic of China, but Beijing says it must unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Since leaving No 10, Ms Truss has joined calls from Tory MPs urging Rishi Sunak to avoid engaging with Chinese president Xi Jinping.

By contrast, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has preached a ‘constructive’ and ‘robust’ relationship with the superpower. Announcing her trip this week, Ms Truss said: ‘Taiwan is a beacon of freedom and democracy.

‘I’m looking forward to showing solidarity with the Taiwanese people in person in the face of increasingly aggressive behaviour and rhetoric from Beijing.’

Asked if it would increase the likelihood of war, Mr Gao told LBC: ‘I would say more accurately, that illicit, illegitimate steps by people like Liz Truss in making illicit, illegitimate visits to Taiwan will make it more likely that China will exercise jurisdiction over Taiwan sooner rather than later.’

He added: ‘I’m pretty sure Liz Truss will live to see the unification of Taiwan with the motherland, with China.

‘And I hope she will not eternally regret that she made the wrong decision, which damaged the fundamental interests of the British people, inflicting damage on China/UK relations and turning herself into a laughing stock because she will be held responsible for standing in the opposite direction against the peaceful reunification of China.’

He also said the trip will ‘further alienate relations between China and Britain’.

‘Her proposed visit to Taiwan will only achieve one goal – to further alienate relations between China and Britain, hurting the fundamental interest of the British people,’ he told LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr.

‘This visit will have no constructive purpose. I hope Liz Truss will no longer damage the fundamental interests of the British people. And she should know, decency and respect for the British people, British fundamental interests, rather than engaging in brinkmanship in damaging the reputation of Britain and undermining China/UK relations.’

The announcement came after senior Tories expressed anger at the Foreign Secretary’s decision to meet Chinese vice-president Han Zheng – who oversaw the crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong in 2019 – after he attended the King’s Coronation.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said it was up to individual MPs to choose where they travel. ‘Our long-standing position on Taiwan has not changed,’ he added.

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