Truss' Taiwan trip risks ruining repair work

Western politicians wanting some attention have developed a penchant for popping up in Taiwan and throwing their weight behind its pro-independence authorities so they can buff up their image as principled politicians.

The upcoming visit to the Chinese island announced by Liz Truss, the former UK leader, who has the dubious distinction of being the country's shortest-serving prime minister, being a case in point.

Although such visits are intended to convey principled integrity, they only serve to show the unscrupulous opportunism of the visitors who readily dismiss the fundamental truth that Taiwan is "a province of China with no separate status", as stated in a UN resolution and generally acknowledged by most of the international community, so they can mouth off about a China threat. For such is the distorted narrative that prevails that bashing Beijing for its steadfast resolve to pursue reunification plays well with the constituencies these high-minded day-trippers hope to appeal to.