By Ben Blanchard and Sarah Wu TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's vice president and front-runner to be the island's next president, William Lai, is in the eye ...
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOSTAIPEI - Taiwan's vice president and front-runner to be the island's next president, William Lai, is in the eye of the storm after China launched widely expected drills near Taiwan in an angry response to his brief visits to the United States this month.
But in China's view, Lai is a separatist and"troublemaker through and through", for comments he first made in 2017 as premier about being a"worker" for Taiwan's independence, a red line for Beijing. Taiwan's constitution states that the Republic of China is a sovereign state, and that has been a consensus shared by all Taiwan's main political parties. The Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, who set up the People's Republic.
Still, while China has announced sanctions on several senior Taiwanese officials, including Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, it has not done so for Lai, perhaps indicating Beijing does not want to totally shut the door to one day having talks with him. Lai, during the election campaign, has been at pains to say he will stick to President Tsai's path of proffering talks with China and maintaining peace and the status quo, while also pledging to defend the island and reiterating only its people can decide the island's future.
China has rebuffed even the gentlest approaches by Lai.In May, at a question and answer session with students at his alma mater, National Taiwan University, Lai said the head of state he would most like to have dinner with is Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he would advise to"chill out a little".
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