Lai Ching-te (William Lai)

Lai Ching-te (Chinese: 賴清德; pinyin: Lài Qīngdé; born 6 October 1959), also known as William Lai, is a Taiwanese politician and former physician who is currently serving as the eighth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since May 2024. He is the third member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to assume the office of president and the first whose predecessor was also a DPP member. He is also the third incumbent vice president to succeed to the presidency and the first to assume the office through election instead of immediate succession. He has also served as the chair of the DPP since 2023. Born to a working-class family in Taipei County, Lai studied medicine at National Taiwan University and National Cheng Kung University before earning a master's degree from Harvard University in 2003. After serving as the president of the National Physician Support Association, Lai ran in the 1996 Legislative Yuan election, winning a seat representing Tainan City. In April 2023, Lai was nominated by the DPP as their presidential candidate for the 2024 presidential election and was elected with 40.05% of votes. Lai claimed victory on 13 January 2024, marking the first time that a political party had won three consecutive presidential terms since direct elections were first held in 1996. He took office as President on 20 May 2024. Under Lai, Taiwan continued the previous administration's New Southbound Policy, signing an investment pact with Thailand in June 2024. Lai was viewed as a "deep green" member of the DPP, advocating for Taiwanese independence. As the mayor of Tainan, Lai called himself a "pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence" and argued it was possible to "love Taiwan while having an affinity to China". He has since moderated his position, saying that there was no need to declare independence as "Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country called the Republic of China." Lai advocates strengthening Taiwan's relations with the United States as Lai lives at the Presidential Office Building in the capital Taipei City or just Taipei is the work place of the president of the Republic of China on Taiwan.