Mainland China to be tested by Taiwan under William Lai, with global view of cross-strait policies on the line: analysts

Many cross-strait assumptions ‘should be thrown out of the window’ as things change at ‘surprising speed’, former KMT lawmaker tells virtual seminar

Mainland academic says Beijing’s main challenge is to ‘limit international sympathy’ for Taiwan and ensure there is no tapping of ‘status quo change’

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William Lai visits a military base in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, on Thursday, as the mainland Chinese military carries out two days of joint services drills around the island. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 10:00pm, 23 May 2024Updated: 6:07am, 24 May 2024

A Taiwan led by the newly inaugurated William Lai Ching-te will bring new challenges to the cross-strait relationship, as well as Beijing’s global articulation of its policies towards the self-governed island, according to observers on either side.

Joanna Lei Chien, a former Taiwanese lawmaker from the opposition party Kuomintang, said many assumptions on the cross-strait situation “should be thrown out of the window because things have changed at an exceedingly surprising speed” since Lai took over on Monday.

“Lai’s persona. It’s something that we really need to be very careful about,” Lei told a digital seminar hosted by the think tank Centre for Globalisation Hong Kong on Thursday.

Hours earlier, Beijing announced the launch of a two-day military exercise around Taiwan as practice run for a blockade, after accusing Lai at length of sending “dangerous signals” on the island’s independence in his inaugural address.

Lei, who worked with then fellow lawmaker Lai from 2005 to 2008 – when his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in power – characterised the new leader as “a very strong-headed and very seasoned politician”.

She pointed to how his inauguration speech had paid homage to the theory of Taiwan’s 400 years of historical roots, used by the ruling DPP for international lobbying on Taiwan’s distinct identity and its connection to the world.