Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te on May 21 said the future of Taiwan should not be decided by “outside forces” but rests in the hands of its 23 million people. Speaking on the second anniversary of his presidency, Lai stressed his goal as president remains maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait — the 180-kilometer-wide waterway separating Taiwan from mainland China — and preventing “outside forces” from altering the island’s political status quo.
Lai said he remains open to dialogue with Beijing, which has cut off contact with Taipei since 2016, but only through “orderly exchanges” based on the principles of “equality and dignity.” He also asserted that Taiwan is a responsible member of the international community, not a “troublemaker for stability” — a veiled criticism of Beijing.
In response, China's Taiwan Affairs Office on the same day accused Lai of stoking “cross-strait confrontation” by advocating for “Taiwan independence.” Spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said Lai was “peddling divisive sophistries” and using the narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism” to describe Taiwan-China relations. She also criticized Lai for ignoring the welfare of the Taiwanese people to “serve outside forces seeking to ‘seek independence through foreign aid’ and ‘pursue independence by force.’”
Lai’s two years in office have been turbulent, with pressure from both within and outside Taiwan, including from traditional ally the United States. The opposition-controlled legislature has cut a special defense budget from $40 billion to $25 billion, and last week failed in an impeachment attempt over budget disputes. A poll by TVBS news network in early May showed Lai's approval rating at 38%, low but still above the 32% in his first year. The dissatisfaction rate dropped from 55% to 44%. Lai said the government would take other measures to make up for the defense spending shortfall.
On foreign policy, Lai faces uncertainty from the United States — a longtime unofficial ally — as China increases pressure, conducting five rounds of military exercises around Taiwan since Lai took office in May 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that arms sales to Taiwan could be used as “a very good bargaining chip” with Beijing. Trump's comments came after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the Chinese leader urged Trump to take a tougher stance on the Taiwan issue. The United States has maintained a policy of deliberate ambiguity on the issue for decades.
Lai was also forced to postpone a state visit to Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Taiwan's only remaining diplomatic ally in Africa, in April, after several countries refused overflight permits under pressure from China. He later made the trip via a detour on the private plane of Eswatini King Mswati III.
