TAIPEI, Taiwan, 20 May (AP) \u2014 Taiwan\u2019s new president, Lai Ching-te, said in his inauguration speech Monday that he wants peace with China and urged it to stop its military threats and intimidation of the self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that China will face the reality of (Taiwan)\u2019s existence, respect the choices of the people of Taiwan, and in good faith, choose dialogue over confrontation,\u201d Lai said after being sworn into office.<\/p>\n
Lai pledged to \u201cneither yield nor provoke\u201d Beijing and said he sought peace in relations with China. But he emphasized the island democracy is determined to defend itself \u201cin the face of the many threats and attempts at infiltration from China.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lai\u2019s party, the Democratic Progressive Party, doesn\u2019t seek independence from China but maintains that Taiwan is already a sovereign nation.<\/p>\n
The Chinese office in charge of Taiwan affairs criticized Lai\u2019s inauguration speech as promoting \u201cthe fallacy of separatism,\u201d inciting confrontation and relying on foreign forces to seek independence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will never tolerate or condone any form of \u2018Taiwan independence\u2019 separatist activities,\u201d said Chen Binhua, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China\u2019s State Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter how the situation on the island changes, no matter who is in power, it cannot change the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China … and cannot stop the historical trend of the motherland\u2019s eventual reunification,\u201d Chen said.<\/p>\n
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Monday also announced sanctions against Boeing and two other defense companies for arms sales to Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Lai, 64, takes over from Tsai Ing-wen, who led Taiwan through eight years of economic and social development despite the COVID-19 pandemic and China\u2019s escalating military threats. Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province and has been upping its threats to annex it by force if necessary.<\/p>\n
Lai is seen as inheriting Tsai\u2019s progressive policies, including universal health care, backing for higher education and support for minority groups, including making Taiwan the first place in Asia to recognize same-sex marriages.<\/p>\n
In his inauguration speech, Lai pledged to bolster Taiwan\u2019s social safety net and help the island advance in fields such as artificial intelligence and green energy.<\/p>\n
Lai, who was vice president during Tsai\u2019s second term, came across as more of a firebrand earlier in his career. In 2017, he described himself as a \u201cpragmatic worker for Taiwan\u2019s independence,\u201d drawing Beijing\u2019s rebuke. He has since softened his stance and now supports maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and the possibility of talks with Beijing.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people gathered in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei for the inauguration ceremony. Donning white celebratory hats, they watched the swearing-in on large screens, followed by a military march and colorful performances featuring folk dancers, opera performers and rappers. Military helicopters flew in formation, carrying Taiwan\u2019s flag.<\/p>\n
Lai accepted congratulations from fellow politicians and delegations from the 12 nations that maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, as well as politicians from the U.S., Japan and various European states.<\/p>\n
Lai, also known by his English name William, has vowed to continue his predecessor\u2019s push to maintain stability with China while beefing up Taiwan\u2019s security through imports of military equipment from close partner the U.S., the expansion of the defense industry with the manufacture of submarines and aircraft, and the reinforcing of regional partnerships with unofficial allies such as the U.S., Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken congratulated Lai on his inauguration. \u201cWe look forward to working with President Lai and across Taiwan\u2019s political spectrum to advance our shared interests and values, deepen our longstanding unofficial relationship, and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,\u201d Blinken said in a statement from his office.<\/p>\n
The U.S. doesn\u2019t formally recognize Taiwan as a country but is bound by its own laws to provide the island with the means to defend itself.<\/p>\n
Lai\u2019s relatively conciliatory tone will come across as reassuring to foreign governments that may have been concerned about his past reputation as a firebrand, said Danny Russell, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is virtually nothing that Lai could have said, short of \u2018unconditional surrender,\u2019 that would satisfy Beijing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Although Lai signaled he would maintain the overall direction of Tsai\u2019s policy regarding Beijing, he struck a more sovereignty-affirming tone in his speech, said Amanda Hsiao, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis likely fits within Beijing\u2019s low expectations of Lai, so it won\u2019t necessarily change their response,\u201d Hsiao said. \u201cChina was always going to respond negatively to Lai.\u201d<\/p>\n
During her tenure, Tsai oversaw a controversial pension and labor reform and extended the military conscription length to one year. She also kickstarted a military modernization drive.<\/p>\n
Tsai\u2019s leadership during the pandemic split public opinion, with most admiring Taiwan\u2019s initial ability to keep the virus largely outside its borders but criticizing the lack of investment in rapid testing as the pandemic progressed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TAIPEI, Taiwan, 20 May (AP) \u2014 Taiwan\u2019s new president, Lai Ching-te, said in his inauguration speech Monday that he wants peace with China and urged it to stop its military threats and intimidation of the self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own territory. \u201cI hope that China will face the reality of (Taiwan)\u2019s existence, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-240739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240739\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}