Thousands gathered in front of Taipei’s presidential office on May 20th to celebrate the inauguration of William Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s fifth democratically elected president. Among them were 400 supporters from his hometown, Wanli. “Everyone is very proud,” said one of them, Chen Kuo-lung. In the past the small fishing community on Taiwan’s north coast was known only for its tasty crabs. “Now we’ve also produced a president,” boasted Mr Chen, adding that China has suppressed Taiwan on the global stage to make it momowuwen, “obscure and unknown”, as Wanli used to be. He hopes Mr Lai can do for Taiwan’s profile globally what he has done for Wanli’s at home.
Indeed, Mr Lai promised during his campaign to follow his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, in trying to make the country “the world’s Taiwan, rather than China’s Taiwan”. But Ms Tsai’s calm insistence on affirming Taiwan’s sovereignty infuriated China’s Communist Party. Over the past eight years China has cut off engagement with Taiwan’s government, blocked Chinese tourism to Taiwan, stepped up military drills around the island, banned many imports from Taiwan and poached almost half of its diplomatic allies, so that only 12 governments still recognise Taiwan’s.
