How has Taiwan President Lai Changxing performed in his first 100 days in office?

Unpopular reform bill

The bill gives parliament the power to summon the president to make regular reports and answer questions from lawmakers. The measure also applies to businesses and ordinary people.

Tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets to protest the legality of the law.

The two bills were pushed by the two main opposition parties, the Kuomintang and the smaller populist Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).

“The overly radical moves taken by the two major opposition parties to pass the bill have aroused public dissatisfaction,” said Wang Zhisheng, secretary-general of the Cross-Strait Policy Association, a Taipei think tank.

“People want to see checks and balances on the ruling party. But when such checks and balances are implemented in a very crude way, people will instead want to support or sympathize with Jimmy Lai.”

China’s military threat

Across the strait, Lai Changxing had to deal with the continued military threat from China.

The 64-year-old has long been considered a “troublemaker” and a dangerous “separatist” by China.

his Inaugural Address In May, he said in a speech that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were “not subordinate to each other,” further angering Beijing, which viewed his comments as implying that the two sides were independent countries.

He also rejected Beijing’s sovereignty claims and said only the people of Taiwan could decide their own future.

China has since Intensify military invasion China has further heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait by conducting fighter jet “punishment” exercises and mock attacks around Taiwan.

However, multiple polls show that more than half of Taiwanese people support Lai Changxing’s remarks.

Analysts say this is mainly because most Taiwanese, especially the young, are not yet ready to accept unification with China.

“Lai Changxing often repeats the statement that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other. I think this has won him support among people under 40 to 45 years old,” said Mr Wang.

He added that Lai was considered more inflammatory and had a clearer stance than his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, whose stance on cross-strait relations was relatively vague.

Cross-Strait Relations

Analysts pointed out that Lai Changxing’s remarks have shown his bottom line on cross-strait relations.

Although his approval ratings have risen in the polls, he is unlikely to take a tougher stance as any further action to confront Beijing depends on how Sino-U.S. relations develop.

Zhu Zhaoxiang, a political science professor at Taiwan Normal University, pointed out: “The United States does not seem to want to create more trouble. The United States has been putting the brakes on Lai Changxing.”

“Even if his approval rating goes up another 10 points, I don’t think he’ll be able to take a tougher or more aggressive stance on China.”

Observers say cross-strait tensions are unlikely to ease in the short term. Lai Ching-te has repeatedly proposed equal dialogue with the mainland, but was rejected.

Analysts say that as long as Lai Changxing refuses to accept the “one China” principle, Beijing is unlikely to negotiate or resume official exchanges with Taiwan.

Taiwan’s military spending is expected to increase to a record $20 billion next year to bolster its defense capabilities as Beijing conducts more frequent military exercises in the waters and airspace around the island.

The Rice administration’s goals are to maintain Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 3%, keep unemployment below 3.5%, and keep inflation below 2%.

It also plans to attract $3.29 trillion in strategic industry investments, which will be selected and identified by an inter-agency working group.