Taiwan's Lai Welcomes Exchanges With China But Sees Lack of Goodwill

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said on Jan 1 that he welcomed equal, dignified, healthy and orderly exchanges with China, but wondered whether there was goodwill from Beijing given what he said was their blocking of simple things such as tourism.

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Mr. Lai, who took office in May 2024, has regularly offered talks with China but been rebuffed. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and detests Mr. Lai as a "separatist."

Speaking at a New Year's Day news conference, Mr. Lai said China was blocking normal interactions with restrictions on Chinese tourists visiting or students studying on the island, while similar bans do not apply to Taiwanese going to China.