These are challenging times for many world leaders and no less so for the democratically elected leader of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te (賴清德). Lai Ching-te or William Lai was inaugurated as the President of Taiwan on May 20th, 2024. He succeeded Tsai Ing-wen and his election to the presidential office marks the first time for his party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (民主進步黨) to hold this office for three consecutive terms.
While the DPP won the presidential vote, they failed to maintain a majority in the Legislative Yuan or Parliament. As a result, the parliament has been controlled by the Chinese Nationalist Party (中國國民黨) or Kuomintang (KMT) and their smaller ally the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) (台灣民眾黨) who have sought to block Lai's agenda, freeze or cut budgets including defense programs and interfere with operations of the country's top court.
While the KMT insist that they are seeking to strengthen and protect Taiwan's democracy, the general public would not appear to agree and a mass recall effort is well underway which could unseat up to 20 KMT lawmakers and change the balance of power for Lai's administration. This is a topic we will deal with in more detail in upcoming episodes.
In the area of cross strait relations, President Lai has adopted a stronger rhetoric that characterizes Taiwan as a de facto sovereign state, and has moved away from the more cautious tone of his predecessor. In a speech on March 13th, 2025, President Lai publicly characterized China as a "foreign hostile force" trying to "annex Taiwan and stamp out the Republic of China", a phrasing unprecedented for a Taiwanese president.
In response, Beijing has repeatedly described Lai as a dangerous "separatist" and increased military drills and grey-zone operations around Taiwan, including conducting large-scale "blockade-style military exercises" in response to his major speeches.
In this episode, I chat with William Yang (X: @WilliamYang120), Senior Northeast Asia Analyst at the International Crisis Group - an independent, non-profit NGO dedicated to preventing and resolving deadly conflict. We dive into William's recent article on President Lai's first year in office and examine how his administration has responded to mounting pressure from China. We also look at Taiwan public opinion and the challenges President Lai faces in navigating political tensions with the opposition KMT and TPP.
Date of Recording: June 5th, 2025.
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| President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te (賴清德) |
DIVE DEEPER:
Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:
- President Lai's First Year Sees Increased Tensions across the Taiwan Strait - William Yang, International Crisis Group (May 28th, 2025)
- China's Military Exercises Around Taiwan: Trends and Patterns - Amrita Jash, Global Taiwan Institute (October 2nd, 2024)
- The PLA's Joint Sword 2024B Exercise: Continuing Political Warfare and Creeping Territorial Encroachment - John Dotson, Global Taiwan Institute (October 30th, 2024)
- Taiwan chip tycoon warns China has 'Trojan horse' that must be voted out - Thompson Chau, Nikkei Asia (June 18th, 2025)
- Former Chinese Enemies Increasingly Aligned on Taiwan - Chris Horton, China File (March 18th, 2025)
- Donovan's Deep Dives: Challenges among choppy waters for the DPP - Courtney Donovan Smith, Taipei Times (June 14th, 2025)
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