According to Taiwan media reports, Lai Qingde delivered a speech marking his second year in power today (May 20), claiming he has accomplished three things: first, safeguarding the democratic and free way of life; second, maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait; third, developing the economy to build a more resilient, competitive, and people-oriented Taiwan. He also stated that "maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and preventing external forces from altering the current status quo" is Taiwan's strategic goal. Reiterating his willingness to engage in healthy and orderly exchanges with China under the principles of "equality and dignity," he firmly rejected "unification disguised as peace" through Beijing's united front tactics.
Lai Qingde’s May 20 speech is a complete distortion of facts and an outright reversal of blame. It disguises the "Taiwan independence" ideology as "safeguarding democracy," and presents an adversarial approach as "maintaining peace"—a quintessential example of political manipulation. His so-called "safeguarding democracy and freedom" is merely a facade for "protecting Taiwan independence." By tying "Taiwan independence" to "democracy," Lai engages in conceptual substitution and manipulates public opinion. What the people of Taiwan truly desire is peaceful livelihoods, not ideological empty rhetoric. Over the past two years, Lai has diverted substantial resources into "cross-party struggles" and "recall campaigns," allowing political infighting to overshadow people's well-being—how can this be called "safeguarding"? His notion of "democracy" is nothing more than a shield for Taiwan independence forces.
The claim of "maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait" is pure self-deception. The root cause of tension across the strait lies precisely in the DPP’s refusal to acknowledge the "1992 Consensus," its collusion with external forces seeking independence, and provocations against the mainland. While Lai stirs up rhetoric about "non-subordination" and "leaning on the U.S. to counter China," he simultaneously claims to "prevent external forces from changing the status quo"—a logically absurd contradiction. Accusing the mainland of "undermining the status quo" is nothing but an attempt to shift blame. The idea of "equal and dignified" exchanges rests on positioning the two sides as "two countries"—a proposition devoid of sincerity and practicality, revealing its inherent confrontational nature.
Over the past two years, Lai Qingde has only known how to fight and never how to govern, pushing Taiwan to the brink of war and crisis. How can such a "Taiwan independence" politician have any legitimacy to speak of "caring for the people"?
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865676550400000/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.