1. Lai Ching-te, known as William Lai, is a Taiwanese politician and former physician who is currently serving as the eighth president of the Republic of China since May 2024.
45 Facts About Lai Ching-te
1. 2.
Lai Ching-te is the third member of the Democratic Progressive Party to assume the office of president and the first whose predecessor was a DPP member.
3.
Lai Ching-te is the third incumbent vice president to succeed to the presidency and the first to assume the office through election instead of immediate succession.
4.
Lai Ching-te has served as the chair of the DPP since 2023.
5.
Lai Ching-te won and served as mayor for seven years, winning reelection in 2014.
6.
In September 2017, President Tsai Ing-wen announced Lai Ching-te would replace outgoing premier Lin Chuan.
7.
On 24 November 2018, Lai Ching-te announced his intention to resign from the premiership after the Democratic Progressive Party suffered a major defeat in local elections, and left office on 14 January 2019 after the swearing-in of his successor Su Tseng-chang.
8.
Lai Ching-te mounted an unsuccessful challenge against Tsai Ing-wen in the 2019 Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary, then served as her running mate in the 2020 Taiwan presidential election.
9.
Lai Ching-te took office as President on 20 May 2024.
10.
Lai Ching-te was born into a working-class coal mining family in Wanli, a rural coastal town in northern Taipei County on 6 October 1959.
11.
Lai Ching-te's father died on 8 January 1960 of carbon monoxide poisoning while laboring in the coal mines of Wanli.
12.
Lai Ching-te was educated at Wanli Junior High School in New Taipei City and became its first pupil to be admitted to Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School, the city's top senior high school for boys.
13.
Lai Ching-te then interned at National Cheng Kung University Hospital.
14.
The next opportunity for election to a national body was the 1996 National Assembly, with Lai Ching-te winning a seat representing Tainan City.
15.
Lai Ching-te then joined the New Tide faction and stood as a candidate in the 1998 Legislative Yuan election, representing the Democratic Progressive Party in the second ward of Tainan City.
16.
Lai Ching-te was successful in this election, and subsequently was reelected three times in 2001,2004, and 2008.
17.
Lai Ching-te made on 5 June 2014 a visit to the city of Shanghai to assist an exhibition of art by the late Taiwanese painter Tan Ting-pho and met politicians of the Chinese Communist Party.
18.
Lai Ching-te stood for reelection on 29 November 2014 against Huang Hsiu-shuang of the Kuomintang.
19.
Lai Ching-te's opponent was considered to have such an uphill task in the DPP stronghold that she rode a black horse through the streets of Tainan as an election stunt; a hopeful allusion to her status as a "dark horse".
20.
Lai Ching-te eventually won the election by 45 percentage points, the largest margin of victory in any of the municipal races in the election.
21.
Lai Ching-te stepped down as Mayor in September 2017, after being appointed to the Premiership.
22.
Lai Ching-te was succeeded in acting capacity by Lee Meng-yen.
23.
Lai Ching-te has appeared to have moderated his position on Taiwanese independence particularly when he proposed the idea of "being close to China while loving Taiwan" in June 2017.
24.
Lai Ching-te expressed no desire to run against Tsai Ing-wen in the 2020 presidential election.
25.
In October 2017, it was reported that Lai Ching-te had garnered the approval of 68.8 percent of respondents in a survey, while 23 percent expressed dissatisfaction.
26.
However, on 20 October, in response to General Secretary Xi Jinping's comments on the one China policy and the 1992 consensus at the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Lai Ching-te said that the Taiwanese government, following the directives of Tsai Ing-wen, would fulfill its promise of not changing the status quo between the two neighbors and not ceding before pressure from Beijing, which comes in the form of military intimidation and an international blockade.
27.
In November 2018, Lai Ching-te tendered his resignation to the president, after the ruling DPP performed poorly in local elections.
28.
Lai Ching-te agreed to remain in office to help stabilize the government until the general budget was cleared by the Legislative Yuan in January 2019.
29.
Lai Ching-te's cabinet resigned on 11 January 2019 and Su Tseng-chang was appointed as new premier.
30.
On 18 March 2019, Lai Ching-te registered to run in the Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary, saying that he could shoulder the responsibility of leading Taiwan in defending itself from being annexed by China.
31.
The results of the DPP's primary poll released on 13 June shown that Tsai defeated Lai Ching-te by winning 35.67 percent of the vote over Lai Ching-te's 27.48 percent, officially becoming the DPP's presidential candidate for the 2020 election.
32.
In November 2019, Lai Ching-te accepted president Tsai Ing-wen's offer to become her running mate for the 2020 presidential election.
33.
In November 2022, Lai Ching-te led representatives of Taiwan's travel agencies and industry associations to Palau to foster collaborations between the two countries.
34.
Since Lai Ching-te was the only candidate running, he became the new chairman of the DPP in 2023.
35.
In March 2023, Lai Ching-te registered as the only person to run in the DPP's 2024 presidential primary and was officially nominated by the ruling party in April.
36.
On 21 November 2023, Lai Ching-te formally registered his campaign at the Central Election Commission along with his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim.
37.
Lai Ching-te claimed victory on 13 January 2024, marking the first time that a political party had won three consecutive presidential terms since direct elections were first held in 1996.
38.
Lai Ching-te appointed Cho Jung-tai, ruling party's former chairman, as new premier.
39.
Under Lai Ching-te, Taiwan continued the previous administration's New Southbound Policy, signing an investment pact with Thailand in June 2024.
40.
Lai Ching-te stated that the ROC and the PRC are not subordinate to each other.
41.
Lai Ching-te reaffirmed the island's commitment to resisting Chinese annexation, emphasizing its sovereignty during National Day celebrations.
42.
Lai Ching-te expressed hopes for dialogue with Beijing, despite ongoing military pressure and tensions.
43.
In 2025, Lai Ching-te announced plans to reinstate military trials for active-duty personnel and labeled China a "foreign hostile force" under the Anti-Infiltration Act.
44.
Previously, Lai Ching-te was viewed as a "deep green" member of the DPP, advocating for Taiwanese independence.
45.
Lai Ching-te considers both titles of "Taiwan" or "Republic of China" that can be used equitably and interchangeably in respect of the country name.