New Taiwan President William Lai urges China to ‘stop’ making threats

The inauguration of Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, is more about handing over the baton than a radical change in policy for the island, which has been overshadowed by its large and powerful neighbor, China.

Lai Ching-te (also called by his English name, William Lai) is expected to maintain the course set by his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen.

But his first speech as the new president was closely watched in Asia for clues about how Taiwan will manage his difficult relationship with China.

In a careful and thoughtful speech, Mr. Lai urged China to “stop threatening Taiwan” and called for “peace and stability” across the Taiwan Strait.

China’s position is unequivocal: Taiwan is part of China and “reunification” with the mainland is inevitable.

Many island residents want to maintain their sovereignty and democracy. But the pressure is mounting and Taiwan knows it.

“As long as China refuses to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, all of us in Taiwan must understand that even if we accept the entire Chinese position and renounce our sovereignty, China’s ambition to annexing Taiwan won’t just go away,” Mr. Lai said.

Today in Beijing, the response was firm. Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said: “The mainland and Taiwan belong to the same China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.

“Taiwan independence is incompatible with peace across the Taiwan Strait.

“Our resolve to resolve the Taiwan question and complete national reunification is rock solid, our ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity is impregnable, and our actions against “Taiwan independence” and foreign interference are resolute and strong.

“We will never tolerate or condone any form of ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist acts.”

The inauguration celebration was full of color and mention of “democracy” – Mr Lai dropped it more than 30 times.

It was his first chance as president to promote Taiwan’s democratic and sovereign status.

Yet it was clear that this was a speech intended neither to appease nor antagonize the Chinese Communist Party.

And that is exactly the difficult balancing act that the Taiwanese government faces.

In recent years, Taiwan has welcomed hundreds of journalists, politicians and diplomats to the island.

The most controversial was the one visit of former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in 2022. This caused a crisis.

Chinese missiles, ships and planes buzzed around the island for days after the trip.

An unofficial American delegation attends the ceremony

The United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but acknowledges having “strong unofficial relations.”

She knows well that any large-scale visit to the island would be fiercely condemned by China.

Only an unofficial American delegation was present at the ceremony today.

China today has a two-pronged strategy towards Taiwan. The hard approach and the softer approach – something akin to trying to win a few hearts and minds along the way.

The hardest part is seeing Chinese warships and fighter jets operating ever closer to Taiwan, including on its mountainous eastern side.

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Diplomatically, China has gradually eliminated the handful of small island nations and microstates in the Pacific and Caribbean that recognize Taiwan, incentivizing them to switch sides through trade and investment.

But on the other hand, China encourages Taiwanese investments, making it easier for them to acquire property, study and work on the mainland.

Mr. Lai will strive to maintain the status quo with regard to China.

In the past, China has called it “separatist” and “dangerous.”

He has since changed his position, calling for “sovereignty” and saying nothing about independence.

On technology, Lai highlighted the country’s unique status as the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer and foreshadowed the island’s future in artificial intelligence.

Mr. Lai said Taiwan is “as important to the world as it is to the Taiwanese people.”

His message was clear: in the great power rivalry between the West and China, Taiwan matters.