Taiwan's Lai strikes moderate tone on cross-strait issues in key speech

Economy a major theme of speech amid concerns over impact of Al and US tariffs

- Yip Wai Yee

In striking a more moderate tone on cross-strait issues in his national day address on Oct 10, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te tried not to give Beijing further reason to mark him as responsible for escalating tensions.

Mr Lai steered clear of repeating the two lines that "really angered Beijing in the past", said Associate Professor Chen Shih-min, a political science analyst at National Taiwan University.

"He deliberately chose not to say that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other, nor did he say that China has no right to represent Taiwan - both of which have appeared in several of his past speeches," said Prof Chen.

"Overall, Lai was rather cautious this time around when it came to cross-strait issues," he told The Straits Times.

He added that if Beijing launches major military exercises around Taiwan at this particular point in time which it has done before in response to some of Mr Lai's previous speeches - it will look like China is the one stoking tensions and not Taipei.

In a 25-minute speech delivered on the plaza outside the Presidential Office building in Taipei on Oct 10, which marks the founding of the Republic of China, as Taiwan is formally known as, Mr Lai called on China to renounce the use of force or coercion to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

"Looking back at World War II, we see that so many experienced the suffering of war and the pain of invasion," he said, in a reference to 2025 being the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

"We should learn from these lessons and ensure that the tragedies of history are never repeated," Mr Lai added.

In response to Mr Lai's speech, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Oct 10 that the Taiwanese leader has "distorted the truth, muddled public perception, and recycled the falsehood of 'democracy versus authoritarianism".