TAIPEI: The origins of President Lai Ching-te can be found in a small coal mining town in Taiwan. He took up the presidency, Taiwan’s highest position, on Monday. The president is currently faced with the task of managing “widening rifts” (with China becoming more assertive) as well as a “fractious parliament” at home.
After the January elections, the Harvard alumnus became president. The 64-year-old promised to “resist Beijing’s claims on the island” and “defend Taiwan’s democracy.”
Against China’s threats to subjugate the island, Lai urged the people of Taiwan to “come together to safeguard our nation” in his inaugural speech.
He said, “We must show our resolve to defend our country,” but he also “warned” Taiwan that it “must not harbour any delusions” about Beijing’s intentions.
Lai pledged to carry out his predecessor’s (Tsai Ing-wen) programs. Tsai Ing-wen played a crucial part in enhancing Taiwan’s military power to fend off a “possible invasion from China.”
Beijing is angry with Lai because of his “outspoken” nature, which he has recently toned down. He is viewed by China as a “saboteur of peace” and a “stubborn worker” for Taiwan’s independence. Beijing ‘warns’ that the island will experience “war and decline” as a result of the seasoned politician.
Lai has consistently suggested that talks with China, which have been cut off since 2016, should be resumed, but he will probably be “rebuffed.” China “won’t react favorably to him any more than it did to Tsai,” according to London-based “SOAS China Institute” director Steve Tsang.
“The actual concern lies in Lai’s strategy after his anticipated offer of friendship to Beijing is received with a chilly or worse reception.” Lai ascended through the ranks of Taiwan’s civic life, in contrast to the other members of the political elite. His origins are in a “very humble background.”
Lai was raised by his mother along with five other siblings after he was born in 1959. He was raised in a “rural hamlet” in New Taipei City throughout his formative years. When he was only a toddler, his coal miner father passed away.
He worked in a hospital in southern Taiwan after earning a degree in public health from Harvard University. Lai shifted his focus to politics in 1996.
