Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: TTV/Screenshot
LAI CHING-TE DELIVERED the first National Day address of his presidency today. Very little surprised about the speech, in that Lai made no surprising statements on Taiwan’s sovereignty or about Taiwan’s relationship with China. What one does observe from Lai’s speech, however, is the contours of a new historical perspective bridging adherence to the Republic of China (ROC) and the resistance against authoritarianism that occurred in the course of Taiwan’s democratization.
In particular, Lai began his speech by framing the establishment of the ROC as the result of the struggle for democracy 113 years ago by the ROC’s founding fathers. The fact that the ROC was an authoritarian institution of the KMT after its retreat to Taiwan in the wake of the Chinese Civil War was framed as an aberration, which Lai did not explain the origins of.
Lai went on to connect this to the struggle for democracy, stating that while he would not forget the battles to defend Kinmen, Penghu, and Matsu during the Cold War, he also would not forget incidents such as the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident. Lai framed pro-democracy activists, such as those involved in the founding of the DPP, as having the same ideals as the founding fathers of the ROC.
Lai next raised the question of the ROC’s lack of membership in international institutions, stating that Taiwan had still been able to contribute to the world in terms of fighting against global pandemics, providing disaster relief, and that Taiwan had become the world’s leading provider of semiconductors in spite of isolation. Lai went on to name RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Nymphia Wind and Olympics gold medalist Lin Yu-ting as among the “Made in Taiwan” young people who have proven to be Taiwan’s pride on the international stage.
The rest of Lai’s speech, then, was largely an olive branch to not only the KMT, but also the PRC. Namely, Lai called for unity among those with differing ideologies and political views, stating that the interests of the people and nation were above those of any political party.
Lai linked domestic challenges to means for Taiwan to elevate its international profile, stating that Taiwan needed to face issues of global climate change, as well as the spread of contagious diseases and pandemics, but that it could contribute internationally this way.
In this, Lai notably left the door open for cooperation with China. Lai stated that he hoped Taiwan could work together with China to fight climate change, as well as prevent the spread of pandemics. Lai also stated that he hoped to see China contribute economically to the world, citing how the international community in the past welcomed China to institutions such as the World Trade Organization, and that he hoped China could return to the international world and assist in ending the war between Ukraine and Russia, as well as conflicts in the Middle East.
Domestic challenges that Lai emphasized were defense, welfare, health, and growth. Much of what Lai said on this front was not new, in that Lai vowed support for tuition for young people, to help them achieve their dreams, for young parents because children are the future of the nation, and that efforts to achieve housing justice would continue. Similarly, Lai stated that with Taiwan slated to soon become a super-aged society, measures to provide care for the elderly would continue. To this extent, Lai called for greater integration of transportation networks between the metropolitan areas of greater Taipei and between northern and southern Taiwan.
Lai speaking last week. Photo credit: Lai Ching-te/Facebook
It is important to note that some of Lai’s domestic program dovetails with his cross-strait policy. Defense and disaster prevention have been interrelated for the Lai administration, for example, in that civil defense efforts are sometimes framed as also assisting Taiwan with natural disasters such as earthquakes or typhoons, in that much of the same training for medical relief is needed. This would be a way of advancing civil defense efforts using a more civilian framing, rather than as preparation for a possible war.
Lai then thanked former presidents as Chen Shui-bian and Tsai Ing-wen for being in attendance, as well as Legislative Yuan president Han Kuo-yu of the KMT, closing on the note of unity in the face of shared challenges and shared values.
Lai’s National Day address, then, was conciliatory. This was to be expected with reports that the Chinese government is likely to use Lai’s comments as a pretext to escalate tensions by launching military drills. This explains the sizable portion of Lai’s speech devoted to outreach to China and outlining areas of possible cooperation between Taiwan and China.
Where the KMT was concerned, Lai did not seek to be as combative in the manner of a speech last week at a concert held as part of National Day commemorations. During the speech, Lai doubled down on the ROC in a manner intended to highlight the irony of how the KMT attacks the DPP for what is framed as the denigration of ROC institutions while emphasizing that the ROC is not the same polity as the PRC.
Even so, Lai’s speech was preceded by comments by Legislative Yuan president Han Kuo-yu, during which Han emphasized Chinese cultural values as at the core of the ROC. Han also framed legislative powers sought by the KMT in a manner that triggered the Bluebird Movement earlier this year as intended to strengthen transparency and democratic oversight. It may be that during National Day, it was the KMT that was more interested in playing political hardball. Lai is probably aiming to take the high moral ground here, while framing the KMT as overly partisan, and so this was likely a deliberate strategy by Lai.
It is to be seen how international observers react to Lai’s speech. Even as his inauguration speech largely presented the same policy as his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, Lai’s inaugural address was perceived as breaking from Tsai’s precedent by some international observers–particularly from the US. This is probably why Lai’s speech for National Day sought to offer an olive branch to not only China, but also the KMT. Still, the issue may ultimately be perceptions of Lai himself, rather than anything he says, and even his bending of the stick on the ROC, to craft a historical narrative to justify embracing the ROC, may not satisfy such observers.