Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, heads of state and dignitaries from allied nations, representatives of diplomatic missions in Taiwan all distinguished guests present, friends watching on television and online, and all fellow citizens hello everyone When I was young, I aspired to practice medicine and save lives. When I entered politics, I aimed to change Taiwan Standing here now, I am determined to strengthen the nation What you are seeing now is from May 20th, that is, yesterday at noon outside the Presidential Office Building of the Republic of China during the inauguration ceremony of the 16th President of the Republic of China Due to the long-standing division and confrontation across the Taiwan Strait each inaugural speech at the Republic of China presidential inauguration attracts significant attention as everyone wants to hear what the new president has to say especially regarding the positioning of cross-strait relations, which will affect the direction of cross-strait relations for the next 4 to 8 years So it's not just the media that pays attention; the governments of major countries around the world also watch closely Reportedly, dozens of domestic and international media outlets gathered outside the Presidential Office Building yesterday to cover the event To be honest, I also wanted to be there in person As a journalist, my first reaction to such a major event is to be on the scene to witness and report this historic moment Four months ago, William Lai represented the Democratic Progressive Party to run for President of the Republic of China On January 13th, during the voting, he defeated Ko Wen-je, the candidate of the People's Party and defeated Hou You-yi, the candidate of the Kuomintang. I was there to witness it So I was on the scene during their victory night But now, four months later, everything has changed I have been ruled by the National Immigration Agency of the Republic of China that I am not allowed to enter the territory of the Republic of China for the next five years Of course, this matter is not over yet; I am still suing them But before I win the lawsuit, I can't go to Taiwan So now I am willing but unable So today I can only sit in the Tokyo studio and analyze for everyone what President William Lai's inaugural speech actually means With an extremely firm resolve, I accept the people's mandate to serve as the 16th President of the Republic of China I will uphold the constitutional system of the Republic of China and shoulder the heavy responsibility of leading the nation forward It should be said that Taiwan's presidential inauguration ceremony is quite complex because I watched the entire presidential inauguration ceremony yesterday Relatively speaking, the Mainland's ceremony is simpler. The Mainland holds the Two Sessions During the five-year term, thousands of National People's Congress deputies sit below, and the head of state presses a constitution, takes an oath, and it's over. There are no other ceremonial procedures But Taiwan's ceremony is quite complicated At 8:45 yesterday, Tsai Ing-wen began to receive foreign heads of state at the Presidential Office Building Because Taiwan invited many foreign heads of state to attend the presidential inauguration Taiwan now has 12 diplomatic allies, though these countries are not large His Excellency President Peña of the Republic of Paraguay Many heads of state from these allied countries came to Taiwan to participate As Tsai Ing-wen's last duty as president she received these foreign heads of state at the Presidential Office Then, Hsiao Bi-khim arrived at the Presidential Office in a black car first Followed by William Lai and his wife, who also arrived in a black car Salute! At 9 o'clock, Tsai Ing-wen, along with William Lai and his wife, and Hsiao Bi-khim entered the grand hall on the second floor of the Presidential Office The grand hall on the second floor of the Presidential Office is the most important venue for holding ceremonies Presidential inauguration ceremonies and meetings with important foreign guests are often held here After entering, the inauguration ceremony for the President of the Republic of China was held here First, Tsai Ing-wen went up. As she was stepping down she stood on the stage facing Sun Yat-sen's portrait and sang the national anthem of the Republic of China Speaking of the national anthem of the Republic of China, it's quite interesting The national anthem of the Republic of China was originally created by the Kuomintang because the Kuomintang was inseparable from the state in its early days So the national anthem sounds like a party song "Three Principles of the People, our party's foundation, to establish a republic and advance into a state of peace" — think about these lyrics Later, after the rotation of political parties in Taiwan, many people said that the national anthem was inappropriate and should be changed changed to something like "Our Great Taiwan," but this did not happen Because if it were changed, the Mainland would say that you are promoting Taiwan independence, which is unacceptable So Taiwan has not dared to change the national anthem But every time the anthem is sung, it is extremely painful for members of the Democratic Progressive Party Imagine making members of the Democratic Progressive Party sing "Three Principles of the People, our party's foundation" — how would they feel? It must be very mixed emotions, right? It doesn't feel right, does it? So every time there's such a ceremony the media focuses on whether members of the Democratic Progressive Party sing the entire national anthem and which parts they sing Yesterday, when Tsai Ing-wen was singing on stage William Lai was also below, singing along Some noticed that when William Lai sang the eight words "Three Principles of the People, our party's foundation," he closed his mouth He didn't hum because he doesn't agree with it in his heart But later, before the inaugural speech at 11 o'clock, there was another session to sing the national anthem of the Republic of China At that time, William Lai was in the spotlight, alone, right? All cameras were on him, and he sang the words "Three Principles of the People, our party's foundation" completely So it's quite an interesting detail After Tsai Ing-wen stepped down, William Lai then moved forward for his inauguration ceremony The first part of the inauguration ceremony was taking the oath He swore to the people of the entire nation to uphold the constitution, fulfill his duties enhance the welfare of the people, defend the nation, and not betray the trust of the people, and to accept severe punishment by the state if he violates the oath Witness, oath-taker William Lai After he took the oath, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim also took the oath After taking the oath, there was a session for the presentation of seals According to Taiwan's laws, the President of the Legislative Yuan presents the seals to William Lai The current President of the Legislative Yuan is Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang Han Kuo-yu stepped on stage and presented three seals to William Lai He presented the Seal of the Republic of China, the Seal of Honor, and the Presidential Seal These three seals have a history One is the Seal of the Republic of China, one is the Seal of Honor, and one is the Presidential Seal These three seals were brought to Taiwan by the Kuomintang from the Mainland The Seal of the Republic of China was carved between 1928 and 1929 At that time, the Kuomintang sought materials from all over the country to make the seal and found two pieces of jade from Myanmar One piece of Burmese jade was carved into the Seal of the Republic of China and the other piece was carved into the Seal of the Kuomintang In 1949, the Communists drove the Kuomintang out The Seal of the Republic of China was very important at the time so the Presidential Office of the Republic of China had a special officer to guard the seal The official responsible for the Republic of China's seal, this seal official fled to Hong Kong. After fleeing to Hong Kong, he probably also had no confidence in the Republic of China in Taiwan. So he was unwilling to come to Taiwan. Later, Chiang Kai-shek ordered his subordinates to go to Hong Kong. They took the Republic of China's seal, flew to Hainan Island on a military plane, and then flew to Taiwan. It is said that during those two days and nights on Hainan Island, these two people held the Republic of China's seal in their arms every day. Imagine this Republic of China's seal is the national jade seal of the Republic of China. When sleeping at night, they placed it under their pillows. After arriving in Taiwan, they handed it to Chiang Kai-shek. So in 1950, when Chiang Kai-shek resumed his position as President of the Republic of China, he reactivated the Republic of China's seal. It is said that this seal is usually kept in a basement in Taiwan, guarded very strictly. In recent years, after the martial law was lifted, it was gradually placed in a safe in the Presidential Office. In such major events, Han Kuo-yu handed this seal to Lai Ching-te, indicating that Lai Ching-te is considered the President of the Republic of China. The second seal is called the Seal of Honor. This Seal of Honor was carved on the mainland in 1931. It is made of Hetian jade. So you see that jade, it's white and was also brought from the mainland to Taiwan. It is mainly used in ceremonies, such as conferring honors. But it is not an official national seal. The third one is the Presidential Seal. The Presidential Seal was cast by the Kuomintang on the mainland in 1948. It is made of silver and looks quite large. Not long after, the Kuomintang was driven to Taiwan, so it was brought to Taiwan. Recently, Taiwan has designated these three seals as national treasures. Because from the time they were carved to now, it's been almost 100 years. They have become cultural relics, so they are used very carefully. They are not used in our usual way of stamping. Ink is applied to the seal, then the document is pressed onto it to leave an imprint. After Lai Ching-te received these three seals, he was officially inaugurated as the 16th President of the Republic of China. He immediately began issuing presidential orders, appointing his Premier and Vice Premier, including some ministers. They then held a swearing-in ceremony in another hall. During this process, celebrations began outside the Presidential Office in Taiwan. The celebrations were quite distinctive, with planes flying overhead pulling banners. Below, the honor guard of the Taiwanese military had shining helmets and rifles, looking quite impressive. At 11 o'clock, Lai Ching-te walked outside the Presidential Office of the Republic of China to give his inaugural speech. President Lai Ching-te and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim also gave their warmest applause to former President Tsai Ing-wen. Let's welcome President Lai Ching-te and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim with the warmest applause. There were two interesting details in this inaugural speech. One is that I felt Lai Ching-te's speech yesterday was not very fluent throughout the process. Compared to Tsai Ing-wen, Tsai Ing-wen's speeches are relatively fluent. Tsai Ing-wen has more experience handling such occasions. Lai Ching-te might have been a bit nervous yesterday, with a teleprompter in front of him. So he paused a lot in the middle. That's the first point. Secondly, the wind was quite strong at the scene yesterday. So Lai Ching-te's hair kept being blown in front of his eyes, and he kept brushing it away. I personally think Lai Ching-te should have used some hair gel to keep his hair in place. After styling, the wind wouldn't easily mess it up. After all, he was being inaugurated as the 16th President of the Republic of China, and his hair kept getting blown around. Overall, it didn't look good. At the scene, you could see other political party leaders. Ko Wen-je was also there. The media noticed Ko Wen-je yawning and dozing off, and Zhu Lilun didn't go. Initially, the Kuomintang said none of them would go, but then Lu Hsiu-yen said she had to go. In the end, some people did go, including Chiang Wan-an, who was also there. So everyone was listening to Lai Ching-te's speech. After listening to Lai Ching-te's speech yesterday, my overall feeling was that it was a pragmatic pro-independence worker promoting pragmatic pro-independence views. This is how I summed it up. Why do I say this? Listen to my analysis. Firstly, the most important point is that Lai Ching-te mentioned in his speech yesterday that the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China are not subordinate to each other. Sovereignty determines statehood according to the Constitution of the Republic of China. The sovereignty of the Republic of China belongs to all its citizens, and those with Republic of China nationality are citizens of the Republic of China. Hence, the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other. This statement has long been the stance of the Democratic Progressive Party, so it is not surprising. However, saying this in a presidential inaugural speech is still quite significant. Some say Tsai Ing-wen has actually said this before. But Tsai Ing-wen said this during the National Day speech in 2021. A National Day speech and a presidential inaugural speech are not the same in importance. Moreover, Tsai Ing-wen later modified her stance. She changed it to "the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not subordinate to each other." The two sides of the Taiwan Strait not being subordinate to each other and the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China not being subordinate to each other are very different. Because "the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not subordinate to each other" essentially describes the situation within a single country. It describes the administrative control. "The two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not subordinate to each other" is a factual description of the current situation from an administrative control perspective. But why is Lai Ching-te's statement different? Listen to his argument. Lai Ching-te argues based on the Constitution of the Republic of China. The sovereignty of the Republic of China belongs to all its citizens. Those with Republic of China nationality are citizens of the Republic of China. So, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China are not subordinate to each other. Listen to his three-step argument. Why do I say this is very serious? Because he is describing not administrative control but sovereignty. He is saying that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not subordinate in terms of administrative control, and the Republic of China does not control the People's Republic of China. He is saying that in terms of sovereignty, we are not subordinate to each other. This essentially means independence, which is very clear. In the past, no one has used such an argument to describe the non-subordination between Taiwan and the mainland. So, Lai Ching-te's statement that the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China are not subordinate to each other is the first time a leader of Taiwan has argued that Taiwan and the mainland are not subordinate in terms of sovereignty. So this is a very significant signal. That's the first point. Secondly, he also mentioned at the end whether it is the Republic of China, the Republic of China Taiwan, or Taiwan, the name of our country is equally respected by ourselves and our international friends. So let us all unite and stride forward into the world together. This statement was opposed by many people in Taiwan. Why? According to the Constitution of the Republic of China, the name of the Republic of China is the Republic of China. There is no such country as the Republic of China Taiwan, and there is no such country as Taiwan. Taiwan is just a geographical name. But if you elevate Taiwan to the level of a country's description Strictly speaking, it violates the Constitution of the Republic of China. So in many of yesterday's Taiwanese political commentary programs, they mentioned That Lai Ching-te violated the Constitution of the Republic of China as soon as he became president. In his inauguration speech today, President Lai Ching-te mentioned that Taiwan is also the name of a country. He mentioned the new two-state theory that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other. This violates the Constitution of the Republic of China and is somewhat provocative. If he wants to push towards Taiwan independence, it is recommended that he amend the constitution. He cannot use the Constitution of the Republic of China but completely not follow it. Of course, in my opinion, Lai Ching-te does not really recognize the Constitution of the Republic of China. Didn't he say in the past that the Constitution of the Republic of China is a disaster? In his heart, he actually recognizes that Taiwan is an independent country. It's just that the Constitution of the Republic of China cannot be discarded now. Because if it is discarded, the mainland might attack, and there could be a war across the Taiwan Strait. So the Constitution of the Republic of China has to be kept. But he does not mention the parts of the Constitution of the Republic of China that are unfavorable to him. For example, the Constitution of the Republic of China talks about the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. Before national unification, because the Constitution of the Republic of China has additional articles, The sovereignty covers the entire mainland China, but he will not talk about this. So you can see that Lai Ching-te does not recognize the Constitution of the Republic of China in his heart. So it is not surprising that he violates the Constitution of the Republic of China. So I personally think This is the second aspect. The third aspect is that you can see that throughout Lai Ching-te's inauguration speech, he referred to the mainland Always as China, the People's Republic of China, and did not use terms like the other side or the mainland. Or terms like the Beijing authorities. I also call on China to stop its military intimidation of Taiwan and to share global responsibilities with Taiwan. I hope China recognizes the fact of the existence of the Republic of China and respects the choice of the Taiwanese people. So he very clearly positions the mainland and Taiwan as two countries. This is Lai Ching-te's true inner thoughts; he wants to do this. And at the end, he also said to strengthen our country and make it a great nation, and so on. You can see this is a heartfelt cry from a pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence. So this is my own observation of Lai Ching-te's inauguration speech. It should be said that as soon as the speech ended, it caused a great stir. First, the Taiwanese stock market Upon hearing Lai Ching-te say that the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, The stock market immediately fell, especially many tourism stocks hit the limit down. Because people may have no confidence in the new president's Openness to mainland tourists visiting Taiwan. Subsequently, many people also criticized Lai Ching-te's remarks, saying that he is promoting the two-state theory. For example, Ma Ying-jeou's office said this violates the Constitution of the Republic of China. This places Taiwan in a dangerous position, which is irresponsible. I am very curious whether the United States was aware of and supported President Lai's inauguration speech in advance. If the United States was aware of and supported this direction, We would be very, very worried about future cross-strait relations. I urge President Lai Ching-te to put the welfare of the Taiwanese people first, set aside ideology, Correct the new two-state theory publicly declared during yesterday's inauguration, and not mislead the country. The criticism was very intense, and the reaction from the mainland was even stronger. The first reaction from the mainland came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin. I want to emphasize that there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China. No matter how the political situation in Taiwan changes, It cannot change the historical and legal fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China. Nor can it change the basic pattern of the international community adhering to the one-China principle. It cannot change the historical trend that China will eventually be unified and must be unified. The historical trend is unstoppable, and Taiwan independence is a dead end. The day when China achieves complete unification will surely come. Wang Wenbin's remarks were widely picked up by the media. He said Taiwan independence is a dead end, which is very strong and widely quoted. But one point I think many people overlooked is that Wang Wenbin said No matter how you stir up Taiwan independence, you cannot change that Taiwan is a part of China's territory. The People's Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of China. I think this statement is also significant. Why? Because after China regained its seat in the United Nations, On the Taiwan issue, or the Taiwan issue from the perspective of mainland China, there is actually a three-stage theory. This three-stage theory says that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's sacred territory. The People's Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of China. What does this imply? Taiwan is actually just a local government of China. But later, after exchanges between the two sides of the strait, As relations improved, there was the 1992 Consensus. The 1992 Consensus is one China, respective interpretations. One China, respective interpretations mean that both sides adhere to the one-China principle, But both sides have different understandings of the political meaning of one China. It means you can say one China is the Republic of China, And I can say one China is the People's Republic of China. As long as neither side denies the other, that is the 1992 Consensus. One China, respective interpretations. But after the one China, respective interpretations, during the 1992 Consensus, The mainland did not mention that the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of China. You can look at the discussions between Hu Jintao and Lien Chan. When they talked about both sides belonging to one China, They did not say that the mainland is the only legitimate representative of China. But now, the mainland's position has returned to that before the cross-strait negotiations. It means that the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of China. In the future, if Taiwan wants to negotiate with me, it is not as a political entity with representative rights. You are just a special administrative region, nothing more. Because in the past, one China, respective interpretations at least maintained some openness. For example, if the two sides unify in the future, Then it is possible to establish a federal or confederal system, and the country's name might not be the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China. Because there was a degree of openness in form. But now the mainland's statement should say that all these options are excluded. So the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very tough. Then in the afternoon, near 5 o'clock, the Taiwan Affairs Office also issued a statement. Saying that Lai Ching-te has exposed his nature as a pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence, relying on foreign forces to sell out Taiwan. It is very serious and condemns him severely. So how do we view Lai Ching-te's speech? Personally, I think before Lai Ching-te's inauguration speech, many people said that Lai Ching-te would follow Tsai Ing-wen's route. Because when Tsai Ing-wen was elected president 8 years ago, mainland China once described her inaugural speech as an incomplete answer sheet. Which implied that it was not very satisfactory but acceptable. I have always believed that Tsai Ing-wen is the maximum or the minimum bottom line that the CCP can tolerate in Taiwan. But now, it should be said that Lai Ching-te has greatly exceeded Tsai Ing-wen's bottom line. Because strictly speaking, Tsai Ing-wen is not a standard DPP member. She is the successor of Lee Teng-hui's route. Tsai Ing-wen participated in formulating Lee Teng-hui's cross-strait policy back then. So Tsai Ing-wen was not a DPP member in her early years. But Lai Ching-te is different. Lai Ching-te is a standard DPP member. In his early years, he said that his mission was to build Taiwan into a normal country. A normal independent country. In this regard, he is different from Tsai Ing-wen. Moreover, in his inauguration speech, he basically voiced his true feelings. But I personally think this is indeed quite dangerous. Although Lai Ching-te's inauguration speech must have been approved by the Americans, because before Lai Ching-te took office, the U.S. sent two senior officials to Taiwan for an early visit. They must have reviewed the speech. And just yesterday, Blinken immediately congratulated Lai Ching-te through a public statement and even called Lai Ching-te the President of Taiwan. So you can imagine, the U.S. definitely reviewed and at least tacitly approved Lai Ching-te's speech. But what does this mean for the future? In the future, I personally think it definitely means that the uncertainty between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has greatly increased. Because everyone knows that the mainland's bottom line policy towards Taiwan is that it must be one country. If it is not one country, isn't the Anti-Secession Law in place? The Anti-Secession Law means that they will use force for reunification, but not necessarily immediately. But from the mainland's legal perspective, Taiwan has crossed the bottom line of the Anti-Secession Law. Of course, the ultimate solution to the Taiwan issue depends on the game between China and the U.S. The power comparison between these two countries. Once the mainland believes that someday in the Taiwan Strait area, even if it uses force against Taiwan, the U.S. has no chance of winning, then it might solve the Taiwan issue by force. I believe that many people in Taiwan now definitely do not believe that the mainland has such an intention. Including a day before Lai Ching-te's inauguration, I saw the BBC interview with Tsai Ing-wen. And the Chinese army is huge. Their army is very modernized. But Taiwan has very few official diplomatic relations. And no formal military alliances. However, with the joint efforts of relevant parties in the region, China actually feels the pressure. Because military is not the only concern. They must realize that the cost of war could impact economic development. And the economic consequences could delay China's development for years or even decades. So if you were the leader of China, what is more important? Taking Taiwan or continuous growth in economy and society? The implication is that the mainland might reconsider and possibly abandon its determination to reunify Taiwan by force. I personally think that whether it is Tsai Ing-wen or Lai Ching-te, they might both have underestimated the mainland's determination to solve the Taiwan issue. I personally believe that for mainland leaders, to solve the Taiwan issue, the economic cost is worth it in their view. They will not let Taiwan become independent just because of the loss of economic benefits. They can accept it. The most important factor to consider here is actually the U.S. Can the mainland avoid U.S. intervention when using force? Or even if the U.S. intervenes, it has no chance of winning. This is the mainland's most important consideration. As for economic development, in my view, it is not the most important consideration. Of course, I am not saying this to advocate for the mainland's standpoint to reunify Taiwan by force. I myself do not have this intention. Whether Taiwan is independent or not, I can accept it. But what I hope is that both sides do not come to such a confrontational situation. I have always said that Chinese people on both sides of the strait should have the political wisdom in today's era to resolve political differences peacefully. Solving political differences not only requires the mainland but also the Taiwanese leaders to have high standards. How to avoid political differences from leading to military confrontation is a significant challenge. But now seeing President Lai Ching-te's speech, we overseas Chinese are indeed worried about Taiwanese society. Anyway, after watching President Lai Ching-te's inauguration speech, I still congratulate him on being elected as the 16th President of the Republic of China. I also hope he can lead the 23 million people of Taiwan to create a new situation and bring greater welfare to the Taiwanese people. At the same time, I hope he tells the Immigration Department that in the future, when we sue the Immigration Department, it should act impartially. If Taiwan's court rules against the Immigration Department, it should enforce the ruling. So that I can do more interviews and reports in Taiwan in the future. Well, that's all for today. Thank you, everyone.
