William Lai Ching-te was sworn in as the new president of Taiwan on Monday (May 20), succeeding Tsai Ing-wen after serving as her vice president for the past four years.
The doctor-turned-statesman was sworn in in Taipei's Presidential Office Building alongside his vice president, Hsiao Bi-khim, and his cabinet, which included Premier Cho Jung-tai, Secretary-General Pan men-an, and national security chief Wellington Koo.
BBC reporter Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reported before the ceremony that Lai would face a divided parliament from the beginning of his term after opposition lawmakers criticized and protested proposed reforms that assert Taiwanese independence, among other things.
Lai would also face constant criticism from Beijing due to his role as Tsai's vice president.
Politico specified in a report before the ceremony that he would continue Tsai's legacy of an independent Taiwan in the face of mounting Chinese aggression with the help of the United States and its other regional allies.
Wingfield-Hayes also reported that the crowd was not only composed of Taiwanese people but also a sizable portion of other Asians, such as the Vietnamese, Japanese, Indonesians, and even people from Myanmar, as a strategy of the Taiwanese government to turn such events into international events to elevate its position on the global stage.
After the ceremony, Lai, Hsiao, and Tsai were all seen together reviewing a military parade.
Local and International Reactions, Representations
While Chinese social media was tight-lipped about Lai's inauguration, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement Monday that it would sanction several US companies that it claimed were "involved in arms sales to Taiwan," including Boeing, General Atomics, and General Dynamics.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Lai for assuming office, saying that Washington was looking forward to working with his government and "across Taiwan's political spectrum" in order to promote "shared interests and values," despite not having official diplomatic relations.
Several former US officials were in attendance at Lai's swearing-in ceremony.
Aside from foreigners in the crowd, representatives from the very few countries that maintained formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan were also in attendance, such as Paraguay, Eswatini, Palau, and St. Lucia. The number has since dwindled in the past few years after the Solomon Islands and, most recently, Nauru cut their ties with Taiwan and initiated diplomacy with Beijing.
Join the Conversation