China considers self-ruled Taiwan to be its territory, to be taken one day by force if necessary, and strongly opposes any formal engagement with the island, including by high-profile foreign political figures.
Truss, who is on a five-day visit to Taiwan, accused Sunak and other Western governments of "trying to cling on to the idea that we can cooperate with China on issues like climate change, as if there is nothing wrong".
"But without freedom and democracy, there is nothing else. We know what happens to the environment or world health under totalitarian regimes that don't tell the truth," she said.
"You can't believe a word they (China) say."
Truss also called on Sunak to make good on his pledge during the Conservative leadership campaign last year to designate China a strategic "threat", and went on to say the West could not avoid another "Cold War" with Beijing.
It is "absolutely clear" that Chinese President Xi Jinping "has ambitions to take Taiwan", she added at a press conference later.
"We don't know exactly when that could take place and we don't know how... All we can do is make sure Taiwan is as protected as possible."
Sunak has pushed back on the tough rhetoric against China that Truss deployed before and during her 49-day tenure at 10 Downing Street last year.
She was ousted after her radical economic policies crashed financial markets.
Since then, Truss -- who is still a sitting MP -- has been trying to rebuild her profile with a series of speeches overseas, including in Tokyo, Washington and Copenhagen.
- 'Instagram diplomacy' -
The Chinese government has slammed Truss's Taiwan visit as a "dangerous political show which will do nothing but harm to the UK".
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London accused her of "colluding with 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces to provoke confrontation", in a statement issued before her speech in Taipei.
It added that Truss's visit would "further expose herself as a failed politician".
The former leader has also faced accusations back home that she is indulging in irresponsible sabre-rattling in a bid to maintain her political relevance.
"The (Taiwan) trip is performative, not substantive," House of Commons foreign relations committee chair Alicia Kearns told The Guardian newspaper last week.
"It is the worst kind of example of Instagram diplomacy," the Conservative said, recalling previous criticism of Truss's tireless self-promotion on social media.
Kearns added the trip was likely to deepen problems for Taiwan.
Truss defended herself Wednesday by saying she was invited by Taipei, which was "best placed to understand what will help Taiwan's course".
She added: "I think that's a very dangerous idea that we should allow a totalitarian regime to dictate who goes where in the world."
Beijing has in recent years stepped up air and sea incursions around Taiwan, whose President Tsai Ing-wen has refused to accept that the island is a part of China.
After a visit to Taiwan by then-speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, China launched massive military drills around the island.
There were more drills this year following a meeting in the United States between Tsai and Pelosi's successor.
Taiwan's main opposition party picks popular mayor as presidential candidate
Taipei (AFP) May 17, 2023 -
Taiwan's Beijing-friendly opposition Kuomintang party on Wednesday nominated Hou Yu-ih, a popular mayor, as its candidate for the presidential election next year.
The election in January is seen as a referendum on President Tsai-Ing-wen's handling of self-ruled Taiwan's relations with China, which have soured during her tenure.
Tsai does not accept China's claim that Taiwan is its territory, and during her two terms, China has ramped up military and diplomatic pressure on the island.
In contrast, the Kuomintang (KMT) traditionally favours warmer ties with China.
Hou said during a KMT party meeting on Wednesday that "safeguarding" Taiwan and bringing prosperity to it were his main aims if elected.
"The Republic of China is our country and Taiwan is our home. Everyone should stand united... so we can look after our home and create a common future," the 65-year-old said, using Taiwan's official name.
A former police chief, Hou entered politics in 2010 when he was appointed by then-New Taipei City mayor and current KMT chairman Eric Chu as his deputy, a position he held for eight years.
He became mayor of New Taipei City -- Taiwan's biggest constituency with around four million residents -- in the 2018 local elections, and was re-elected last year.
During a recent city council session, when asked to clarify his position on China, Hou said he opposed Taiwan's independence and the "one country, two systems" arrangement, referring to the model used in Hong Kong.
China has proposed it for Taiwan as well but a majority of Taiwanese people have rejected the model, especially after Beijing crushed political freedoms in Hong Kong despite promising a degree of autonomy to the city.
The KMT chose Hou over tech giant Foxconn's billionaire founder Terry Gou.
Hou will face off against current Vice President William Lai, 63, who has been more outspoken about Taiwan's independence than Tsai.
aw/dhc/qan
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