Taiwan presidential front runner William Lai says no plans to change island’s formal name
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
China has a particular dislike of Vice-President William Lai, who has previously described himself as a “practical worker for Taiwan independence”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
TAIPEI – The leading candidate to be Taiwan’s new president, Vice-President William Lai,
China has a particular dislike of Mr Lai, who has previously described himself as a “practical worker for Taiwan independence”. This is a red line for Beijing, which views self-governing Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification.
Mr Lai has repeatedly said he is not seeking to change the status quo and that he is simply stating a fact: that Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name, and that only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
“We must abide by the truth – which is what I mean by pragmatism – (that) Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country called the Republic of China (ROC). It is not part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” he said in an interview with the Bloomberg news agency.
“The ROC and PRC are not subordinate to each other. It is not necessary to declare independence. The ROC is not subordinate to the PRC.”
The defeated ROC government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, who established the PRC.
“The current name, according to our Constitution, is the Republic of China,” Mr Lai said, according to a transcript published by his campaign team.
“And in respect to unifying Taiwanese society, President Tsai has used the term Republic of China to describe our country. I will continue to do so in the future,” he added. “There are no plans to change the name of our country.”
Taiwan votes on its new president in January. President Tsai Ing-wen cannot run again after serving two terms in office.
Mr Lai is in Paraguay for the inauguration of that country’s new president. Paraguay is one of only 13 nations to maintain formal ties with Taipei.
He transited New York on his way there, drawing anger from China, which said he was both a separatist and a “troublemaker”,
