New Taiwanese President to Take Hard Line on China

When he takes office as the new president of Taiwan on Monday afternoon, sources in the capital of Taipei told Newsmax, William Lai will issue a hard-line warning to China about attempting any planned military strikes.

In addition, the same sources said, the new president will reportedly address a recent issue that has flared up between the two countries: that nearby Taiping Island is part of sovereign Taiwanese territory and any attempts to seize it by the Communist Chinese will not be tolerated.

Lai's expected "drawing the line in the sand" with Beijing comes at a time that the United States and neighboring nations in the Pacific — the Philippines, South Korea, and Japan — have made it clear they will stand with Taiwan in the event of an attack from its Communist nemesis on the mainland.

Lai, 68, who succeeds fellow Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Tsai Ing-wen as president after serving as her vice president, is expected to underscore his predecessor's policy of vowing to defend their country at a time when Chinese aircraft make intimidating flights over Taiwan almost every day.

Lai greeted foreign officials and reporters at a reception Sunday evening. With him was incoming Vice President Hsiao Bi-Khim, a popular figure among American politicians for her recent stint as ambassador to the U.S.

Hsiao, 52, who is half American and speaks fluent English, shares Lai's hard-line approach to China and, as ambassador, frequently voiced confidence that the U.S. would follow the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 and stand with Taiwan following an attack from China — a position voiced by President Joe Biden, but which some administration officials seemed to try to walk back.

In January, following Lai's election, the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) took control of the Legislative Yuan (parliament) and has had increasing differences with the DPP.

Days before the inauguration, members of each party in the Yuan broke out into a fistfight ("scuffle" was the phrase used in the Taipei press) over new rules pushed by the Kuomintang that would require the president to make a regular address to lawmakers and take their questions — a combination of the U.S. State of the Union message and the United Kingdom's "question time" for the prime minister.

Although the Kuomintang is considered "softer" on China than the DPP, Lai's anticipated vow to protect the Taiping Island from Communist designs is being pushed by Deputy Legislative Speaker and Kuomintang member Johnny Chiang. According to the Taipei Times, Chiang, during a visit to the island with nine fellow lawmakers, sent the president-elect a postcard urging him to "reiterate that Taiping is part of the nation's territory."

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.