lai ching te taiwan – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net Stay Connected. Stay Informed. Mon, 20 May 2024 01:38:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 https://artifexnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cropped-Artifex-Round-32x32.png lai ching te taiwan – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net 32 32 New Taiwan President takes office facing angry China https://artifexnews.net/article68195300-ece/ Mon, 20 May 2024 01:38:09 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/article68195300-ece/ Read More “New Taiwan President takes office facing angry China” »

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Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te (C) and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (R) wave alongside outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen (L) during the inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei on May 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Lai Ching-te took office as Taiwan’s new President on May 20, facing an angry and deeply suspicious China that believes he is a “separatist”, and a fractious parliament with an Opposition champing at the bit to challenge him.

Mr. Lai was sworn in at the Japanese-colonial-era presidential office in central Taipei, taking over from Tsai Ing-wen, having served as her Vice President for the past four years.

Mr. Lai will express goodwill towards China in his inauguration speech on May 20 morning, and call for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to pursue peace, according to a senior official briefed on the matter.

Beijing views proudly democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Mr. Lai has offered talks, which have been rebuffed, and has been said that only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

Taiwan has faced ongoing pressure from China, including regular air force and navy activities close to the island, since January’s election victory by Mr. Lai, who is 64 and widely known by his English name, William.

In attendance at the ceremony are former U.S. officials dispatched by President Joe Biden, lawmakers from countries including Japan, Germany and Canada, and leaders from some of the 12 countries that still maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, such as Paraguay President Santiago Pena.

Last week, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Mr. Lai, who it called the “Taiwan region’s new leader” had to make a clear choice between peaceful development or confrontation.

His domestic challenges loom large too, given his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its parliamentary majority in the January election.

On May 17, lawmakers punched, shoved and screamed at each other in a bitter dispute over parliamentary reforms the opposition was pushing. There could be more fighting on May 21 when lawmakers resume their discussions.



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Taiwan presidential frontrunner joins huge crowds at east Asia’s largest Pride march https://artifexnews.net/article67471231-ece/ Sat, 28 Oct 2023 17:53:24 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/article67471231-ece/ Read More “Taiwan presidential frontrunner joins huge crowds at east Asia’s largest Pride march” »

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Taiwan’s Vice President Lai Ching-te marches during the annual Taiwan’s Pride parade in Taipei, Taiwan on October 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

An estimated 180,000 people marched through Taipei on Saturday in a riotous and noisy celebration of LGBTQ+ equality and diversity at east Asia’s largest Pride march, with Vice President Lai Ching-te becoming the most senior government leader ever to attend.

The event took place ahead of Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections in January, and Lai, leading opinion polls to be elected president, joined the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) delegation, seeking to cement its position as a defender of liberal values.

Lai, speaking to reporters before joining the march around its midway stage, thanked those who had worked to support equality and the legalising of same sex marriage in 2019, which President Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP championed.

“On this road the DPP has always been together with everyone,” he said, as scantily clad male dancers passed behind him on the back of a truck.

“Equal marriage is not the end – it’s the starting point for diversity. I will stand steadfast on this path.”

Lai then joined the DPP delegation, marching behind a banner reading “Democracy Supports Gays” as supporters yelled out “Hello Mr President”.

None of the other three presidential candidates attended, although the youth wing of the main opposition Kuomintang party did, with its members shouting that their party also supported equality as they passed by Lai.

The streets of central Taipei were packed for the annual parade, the 21st since it began and including go-go dancers and drag queens.

Organisers put the number of attendees at around 176,000, the official Central News Agency reported, including many foreigners.

“Under the umbrella of Taiwan’s democracy and freedom, we learn to accept everyone’s characteristics and respect everyone’s differences,” Tsai wrote in a Facebook message.

Taiwan’s openness on LGBTQ+ issues stands in marked contrast with its giant neighbour China, which claims the island as its own territory.

While same sex relations are not illegal in China, same sex marriage is, and the government has been cracking down on activists and depictions of LGBTQ+ people in the media.



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