Pugnacious, stubborn and a “pragmatic worker for Taiwan’s independence”, veteran politician Lai Ching-te will step into the international spotlight as the democratic island’s next president to navigate an increasingly turbulent relationship with China.
The 64-year-old Harvard graduate rode to victory in Saturday’s election on the promise that he would defend Taiwan’s democracy and resist Beijing’s claims on the island.
His win delivers an unprecedented third consecutive term for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and in his victory speech Lai hailed it as a “victory for the community of democracies”.
“We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we will stand on the side of democracy,” he said.
He has promised to carry out former President Tsai Ing-wen’s strategies of enhancing Taiwan’s military might in order to prevent a possible Chinese invasion.
Beijing, however, is offended by his outspokenness, which he has toned down in recent months as he moves toward the presidency.
China considers him as a “stubborn worker” for Taiwan’s independence and a “saboteur of peace”, saying that the soft-spoken politician will be the cause of “war and decline” for the island.
“There are strong doubts on China’s side about his deep-seated convictions”, said Mathieu Duchatel, head of the Asia programme at Montaigne Institute in Paris, adding that at this stage, “(Lai) wants above all to reassure”.
Son of a coal miner
Unlike most of Taiwan’s political elite, Lai rose from humble origins.
Born in 1959, Lai was raised by his mother alongside five other siblings in a rural hamlet in New Taipei City, after his coal miner father died when he was a toddler.
After he graduated from Harvard University, he returned to work in a hospital in southern Taiwan before turning his attention to politics in 1996 during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis.
“My defining moment came as China’s military adventurism… threatened our shores with live fire exercises and missiles,” he wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal last July.
“I decided I had a duty to participate in Taiwan’s democracy and help protect this fledgling experiment from those who wished it harm.”
Prior to being appointed vice president to President Tsai Ing-wen, whom he would now succeed, he held positions as a lawmaker, a premier, and the mayor of Tainan, a city in the south.
Tsai’s two terms in office saw a severe decline in relations with China, including the suspension of all high-level interactions, as she stood up for the island’s sovereignty and rejected Beijing’s claims to it.
Lai maintained her position that Taiwan is “already independent” and does not require a formal declaration of independence from China during his campaign for government.
Additionally, he has stated that he is open to discussions with China “on the preconditions of parity and dignity,” clarifying that Taiwan’s sovereignty should not be exchanged for deeper connections for economic success.
“Accepting China’s ‘one-China’ principle is not true peace,” he said, referring to a Beijing doctrine that Taiwan is a part of China.
“Peace without sovereignty is just like Hong Kong. It is a false peace.”
‘Much fiercer’
As premier, he was more outspoken than Tsai on the subject of independence, which some claim has high-ranking friends like the US — Taiwan’s primary arms supplier — worried about his plans for handling relations with China.
“The question will be to what extent Lai can stick to the cautious and moderate pathway carved out by Tsai,” said Amanda Hsiao of the International Crisis Group.
Sarah Liu of the University of Edinburgh said a Lai administration would continue on a path of “less economic reliance on China”.
“Through strengthening its international standing, Taiwan will gain more allies to further consolidate its democracy,” she said.
Tsai made a reference to his pugnacity in a campaign ad released this year ahead of the poll.
“You are much fiercer than I am… you step up and fight with others,” she said in a slickly edited commercial that showed the two driving along a picturesque highway.
“But I did it for the safety of my country… because protecting Taiwan’s democracy is the most important,” Lai responded before Tsai handed him the steering wheel.