Why is Liz Truss provoking China?
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 17 May 2023
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The MP for South West Norfolk has made a speech in Taiwan urging the UK Government to treat China as a security threat.
She's the first former PM to visit Taiwan since Margaret Thatcher.
China - which is seeking 'reunification' with Taiwain - has called it a 'dangerous stunt'. Many in Truss's own party feel the same way.
But is there sense in her message even if she's the wrong one to deliver it? And what is she hoping to achieve - for the world, her party and herself?
And, later, we speak to Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz about playing twins in her drama 'Dead Ringers', moves to curtail women's rights in the US, her husband James Bond, and Lewis' acorn.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:09.0 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:12.8 | If you become a member of that esteemed club, the National Union of ex-Prime ministers, |
| 0:18.9 | you know there is one golden rule. It's that when you're abroad, |
| 0:23.4 | you don't disagree with British foreign policy or go to places that are too sensitive for |
| 0:30.4 | British foreign policy. It seems that one of those members didn't get the memo. |
| 0:36.5 | We know what happens to the environment or to world health |
| 0:41.2 | under totalitarian regimes that don't tell the truth. |
| 0:46.2 | You can't believe a word they say. |
| 0:50.2 | They have already made their choice about their strategy. |
| 0:55.9 | The only choice we have is do we appease and accommodate that strategy? |
| 1:03.8 | Or do we take action now to prevent conflict? |
| 1:07.9 | That was the MP for South West Norfolk, won Liz Truss. And she's in Taiwan at the moment, |
| 1:14.6 | and she's made a pretty extensive speech about the need to take Taiwan's fears seriously in the |
| 1:23.4 | face of China aggression. And the question is, on whose behalf is she speaking? The Taiwanese people, |
| 1:32.9 | the British governments, or Liz Truss. Welcome to the newsagents. The news agents. It's John. |
| 1:44.4 | It's Emily. |
| 1:44.9 | And it's Lewis. |
| 1:45.7 | And later in the podcast, we're going to be talking to the Oscar-winning actress, Rachel Weiss. |
| 1:50.6 | We will be talking about life in America. We will be talking about abortion, reproductive |
| 1:55.5 | rights because of a new TV series that she's done. We'll also be talking about James Bond, |
| 2:02.8 | because her husband has just stopped being James Bond. But we're going to start in Taiwan. I mean, we're not in Taiwan, but |
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