Taiwan’s President Lai calls on China to engage in dialogue

ISTANBUL

Taiwan’s newly-inaugurated President William Lai Ching-te urged China on Monday to engage in dialogue, saying the island nation was not subordinate to Beijing.

"The People’s Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan) are not sub-ordinate to each other,” Lai said.

Assuring that he would maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, he said he hoped “China will face the reality of Taiwan’s existence, respect the choices of the people of Taiwan and in good faith choose dialogue over confrontation, exchange over containment.”

However, Lai warned that China’s aim of “annexing Taiwan will not disappear” and said the island nation, home to around 24 million people, should promote four pillars to strengthen its defense.

Lai began his term as Taiwan's eighth president after taking the oath of office early Monday, succeeding the nation’s only woman chief executive, Tsai Ing-wen.

Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's former representative to the US, was sworn in as vice president.

China despises Tsai’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which lost its majority in the regional legislative assembly to the opposition Kuomintang. Beijing has also called Lai a "dangerous separatist."

Lai called on Beijing to cease military activities around Taiwan and said “China’s gray zone actions and coercion are the greatest strategic challenges to global peace.”

Ahead of Lai’s inauguration, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry detected six Chinese planes and seven naval vessels around the island.

Seeking mutual co-existence with Beijing, Lai said a shared goal of peace and prosperity should begin with the resumption of cross-Strait tourism.

Addressing supporters and foreign guests after his oath taking in Taipei, Lai stressed to strengthen Taiwan’s defense, economic security, legal cross-Strait leadership and values-based diplomacy.

Acknowledging challenges ahead in view of the DPP losing its majority in the legislature, Lai, however, said his administration will “perform continuous reforms.”

“The majority should respect the minority,” he told the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party, calling Taiwan’s democracy a “force for good.”

He said peace was “priceless and war has no winners.”

“Taiwan is the frontline guardian of world peace and Taiwan’s role is more significant,” he added. “(And) no one wants achievements of peace to be destroyed.”

As Lai was sworn in, China's Commerce Ministry announced the inclusion of certain companies on its unreliable entities list as they sold arms to Taiwan. They included General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

Beijing barred their senior executives from entering China and will revoke their work permits along with their visitor and residential status, the ministry said.

Lai, 64, was elected in January to succeed Tsai.

He won with around 40.5% of the vote in the presidential race, with a turnout of 69.24%. This was out of roughly 19 million registered voters on the more than 23-million-strong island, which sits across the Taiwan Strait south of mainland China.

Around 508 foreign guests were expected to attend Lai's inauguration ceremony, including an "unofficial" delegation from the US.

China considers Taiwan its "breakaway province" while Taipei has maintained its independence since 1949.

To the chagrin of Beijing, engagements between Taipei and Washington have increased in recent years, with the US supplying Taiwan with arms and weaponry worth billions of dollars.

Lai was handed the great seal of the nation by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu of the KMT as he assumed office as head of the island nation for a term of four years.

A medical doctor-turned politician, Lai earlier served as mayor of Tainan for two terms before being anointed as Taiwan's premier from 2017 to 2019.

Later, former President Tsai picked Lai as her deputy, a position he served until today.