Mr Lai, 64, takes over from Tsai Ing-wen, the island's first female president who held the office for eight years and fostered closer relations with the US and other Western countries. Mr Lai was Ms Tsai’s vice-president for four years but is considered a more hardline leader than his predecessor.
China has called him a “dangerous separatist” and a “troublemaker through and through”. Despite the island having its own democratically-elected government, Beijing considers Taiwan a part of China and Xi Jinping has vowed to see it “reunified” with the mainland by force, if necessary.
“When I was young I was determined to practice medicine and save lives. When I went into politics I was determined to transform Taiwan,” Mr Lai said in his first speech as president after his inauguration yesterday. “Now, standing here, I am determined to strengthen Taiwan.”
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