Virtually all surveys in Taiwan point to the fact that Lai Ching-tealso know as William Laiis the great favorite to become the next president of a de facto independent island of which China claims its sovereignty. We will know that in the elections on January 13. Lai, a 63-year-old doctor, is at the top of the list for the Democratic Progressive Party (PPD). This formation, cutting independentisthas been ruling since 2016 with Tsai Ing-wen at the helm, who has given way to the candidacy of his current vice president.
Lai, who already served as prime minister, has been launching a campaign for some time in which he presents himself as the only one capable of defend Taiwan autonomy against the authoritarian onslaught of the powerful neighbor from above. In foreign policy, if he governs, he has said that he will follow the line set by Tsai, relying on his main international supporter, USA.
On Tuesday, Lai is expected at Paraguay to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected president-elect, santiago pena. From Spain, the King Felipe VI. Paraguay is one of the only 13 countries in the world that recognize the taiwan sovereignty and that they maintain formal diplomatic relations with the island, always willing to finance large infrastructure projects in friendly countries, although with amounts not as succulent as those offered by Beijing. Hence the importance of the vice president traveling to Latin America to tie fidelity of one of his few remaining recognized partners.
But on the way to Paraguay, Lai made a noisy stop on Saturday night at NY, of less than 24 hours, where he met with members of the Taiwanese American community. The United States, which adheres to the “one China” policy, severed formal diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1979, but instead is its great international ally and main supplier of arms thanks to a law that establishes that Washington must provide the island the means to defend oneself.
The trip of the Taiwanese vice president, as expected, It has not done any grace in Beijing. “Lai stubbornly adheres to the separatist position of Taiwan independence and is a troublemaker through and through,” China’s Foreign Ministry said, vowing on Sunday to respond with “firm and forceful measures.” That translates to military maneuvers by the Chinese army near Taiwan, as it has done so many times. On Saturday, the Chinese navy began holding three-day exercises in the east china sea.