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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspondent

Government prepared for backlash before Tony Abbott’s Taiwan trip made public, FoI documents reveal

Taiwan Tony Abbott Australia China Taipei United States Guardian Australia
Tony Abbott
In Taipei, Tony Abbott told a forum that the US and Australia could not stand idly by in the event of a military conflict with China over Taiwan. Photograph: Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

Australian officials prepared talking points to help the government respond to sensitive questions about Tony Abbott’s trip to Taiwan, dismissing any suggestion the former prime minister’s visit represented a policy shift.

Documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal the Australian government was drafting its responses to potential media questions at least a week and a half before news broke of the former prime minister’s travel to Taiwan.

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