CNA Correspondent Podcast: What's in store for cross-strait relations ahead of incoming Taiwan president William Lai's inauguration
In his victory speech after president-elect William Lai won the election, the noted proponent of Taiwan's independence extended the olive branch to Beijing.
Mining the deep reporting of CNA's correspondents, Teresa Tang goes behind the scenes with journalists on the frontlines to unpack the biggest Asian and global stories.
Jump to these key moments:
- 1:09 A separatist or pragmatic president?
- 7:14 Taiwanese views on his election
- 8:23 How did Lai handle the recent earthquake?
- 11:26 Without a majority, how will he push policies?
- 15:48 KMT's strategy towards Beijing
- 18:36 The impact of US elections
Four months after being elected Taiwan’s next president, William Lai officially takes on the role next week. He’s got a lot on his plate, namely safeguarding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Teresa Tang looks at what to expect from him and from Beijing with correspondents Victoria Jen and Olivia Siong.
William Lai is going to tone down his hardline pro-independence position, at least at the start of his term. And given the heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait, the chances of him pushing the envelope is likely to be slim.
Another factor that we have to think about with Beijing's response is that it also does not want to act too strongly and risk affecting progress it has made in improving China-US relations. Taiwan is seen as a key part of that bilateral relationship.
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