“FALSE PEACE”
He has also said he is willing to have exchanges with China “on the preconditions of parity and dignity”, explaining that closer ties for economic prosperity should not be traded for Taiwan’s sovereignty.
“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.”
During Lai’s time as premier, he was more vocal than Tsai about independence, which some say has top partners like the United States – Taiwan’s main weapons provider – concerned about how he will handle relations with China.
But political science professor Luo Chih-mei, from National Taipei University, said Lai was unlikely to make “complicated moves during a US election year”.
Brookings Institution senior fellow Ryan Hass said Lai was not “a wild-eyed zealot with a one-track-minded focus on Taiwan independence”.
“He is a professional politician who has organised his career around becoming Taiwan’s president,” Hass wrote in a report.
“Now that he has ascended to Taiwan’s top elected position, he will want to win reelection.”
