He urged Beijing to replace antagonism with dialogue shortly after his inauguration on Monday.
He also stated that Taiwan would never back down in the face of Chinese intimidation, which has always claimed the island for itself.
China responded by stating that “Taiwan independence is a dead end”.
“Regardless of the pretext or banner under which it is pursued, the push for Taiwan independence is destined to fail,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Wang Wenbin stated at the news briefing on Monday afternoon.
Beijing dislikes Mr. Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which they regard as pro-independence. And it has.
