Lai Outlines Vision for Country in One-Year Anniversary Speech

TaiwanPlus News

To mark the first anniversary of his term of office, President Lai Ching-te has delivered a speech laying out his future plans for the country.

Transcript

00:00Tuesday marks one year since Taiwan President Lai Ching-de took office.

00:05The president took to the podium to lay out what he has in store for the remainder of his term.

00:10Leslie Liao was at the presidential office to hear Lai's remarks and now joins us live on location.

00:16Leslie, what were some of the main points in Lai's speech?

00:21Well, Tiffany, as the saying goes, it's all about the economy.

00:25President Lai spent a good portion of his speech talking about economic issues,

00:30saying that Taiwan needs to wean off its reliance of being an export-driven economy,

00:34but also saying that Taiwan needs to expand into different markets.

00:39President Lai also said that he'll make Taiwan's interests the highest priority

00:43in ongoing trade talks between Taiwan and the U.S.,

00:46and that he's going to establish a sovereign wealth fund.

00:50Lai also spent a lot of time talking about domestic issues,

00:53focusing on things like climate change, health care, and social stability.

00:58He committed to the government's goal of Taiwan becoming a net-zero carbon emitter by the year 2050,

01:03and he also pledged $33 billion U.S. in investment in Taiwan's green energy sector by 2030.

01:10On the health care front, Lai says he will continue to support programs like disease control and cancer treatment.

01:17Lai consistently called for democracy and unity throughout his speech,

01:22saying that Taiwan's democratic system is one of its most treasured qualities.

01:27Have a listen.

01:28I believe no one of a Taiwanese people will forget about life of freedom of民主自由.

01:33No one of a president can be removed from the value of freedom of民主自由.

01:38Now, one topic that was notably missing from Lai's speech is China.

01:45Lai has made countering Chinese infiltration and strengthening Taiwan's defenses

01:49against threats from across the strait a priority in his first year in office.

01:54But he sidestepped that issue in his speech today,

01:59instead only saying in a question-and-ask session after his speech

02:03that he's willing to talk to China, but only on equal footing.

02:08So, Leslie, you said that unity was a big focus of Lai's speech.

02:12Why is that?

02:13Well, Tiffany, Lai's one year comes as there are steep, steep divides

02:21between Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties.

02:24Most recently, there's a sticking point,

02:27and that's a 13.5 billion U.S. dollar special budget

02:32that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's cabinet wants to pass.

02:37Initially, this bill was packaged as a response measure

02:41to U.S. President Donald Trump's potential tariff levies on Taiwan.

02:45But it has since expanded to include items like defense

02:48and a 3 billion U.S. dollar subsidy

02:51for Taiwan's main energy provider, Thai Power.

02:54And that all ties into President Lai's speech about societal stability.

03:00But the special budget has since been slapped down by the opposition,

03:04which holds the legislature,

03:06particularly because of that 3 billion U.S. dollar Thai Power subsidy

03:10and amid concerns that Taiwan's recent abandonment of nuclear power

03:15will exacerbate uncertainties surrounding Taiwan's energy supply.

03:20But that's why President Lai talked about green energy

03:22in the domestic part of his speech,

03:25signaling that, hey, this is the plan,

03:26I'm going to stick to it, and I'm not going to back down.

03:29But he was also telling the opposition party,

03:31make an opposition party, let's talk.

03:37All in all, Lai's speech gave a clear picture of how he envisions the country's future,

03:55while steering clear of controversial topics,

03:59signaling a desire for more unity in his second year in office.

04:05So China has called Lai a separatist many times during his presidency,

04:09but the president's speech today seems quite measured and restrained.

04:12Have we seen any Chinese response?

04:14So far, not that much, Tiffany.

04:21Taiwan's defense ministry reported six Chinese warplanes

04:25and eight naval ships operating close to Taiwan in the 24 hours leading up to this morning.

04:31But that's all pretty run-of-the-mill for China.

04:34But Taiwan's military officials are on high alert

04:37for any increased military activity from across the strait.

04:40Thanks, Leslie.

04:43That was Leslie Liao live from outside the presidential office.

Category

Transcript

Recommended