William Lai, Taiwan's new president, has vowed to strike more investment deals, support Ukraine and partner up with other democracies. Taiwan, the self-ruling, high-tech island that has become a flashpoint in the deepening rivalry between China and the West, has entered a new political chapter. Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, as president, succeeding Tsai Ing-wen, whose steady, soft-spoken leadership in the past eight years has been credited with redefining Taipei's approach to Beijing.
Having served as vice-president during Tsai's second mandate, Lai has fashioned himself as an enabler of continuity, rather than a disruptor who comes to shake things up at a precarious time of growing geopolitical tensions in the region and beyond. "The future of cross-strait relations will have a decisive impact on the world," the 64-year-old said after being sworn in, speaking of his fellow citizens. Here's what Europe needs to know about William Lai.
Born in 1959 to a mining family, Lai studied medicine in Taiwan and obtained a Master's Degree in public health from Harvard University. He entered politics in the mid-1990s as a representative of the city of Tainan with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the centre-left party that led the charge to install political reforms based on Western liberalism – much to Beijing's dismay. From there, his trajectory moved upwards: from national legislator to mayor of Tainan to then prime minister and later vice-president.
In January this.