Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Taiwan is a “sovereign, independent country,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate William Lai (賴清德) told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview, adding that he had no plans to purse formal independence.

“Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country called the Republic of China,” Vice President Lai said, echoing a stance President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made public three years ago, in his first interview with an international media outlet since becoming vice president in 2020.

“And in respect to unifying Taiwanese society, President Tsai has used the term Republic of China (Taiwan) to describe our country. I will continue to do so in the future,” he said. “There are no plans to change the name of our country.”

Former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso, who attaches great importance to Japan’s partnership with Taiwan, paid a visit to Taiwan last week. When meeting with Vice President William Lai (賴清德), nominated as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate for Taiwan’s presidential election in January, Aso said that China’s expansionism has raised tensions in the Taiwan Strait. He stated that he would like to hear the thoughts of presidential candidates about whether Taiwan is determined to use its strength to defend itself should trouble arise, saying, “We are very concerned about this aspect.” Aso, who also serves as the vice president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is the highest-ranking incumbent LDP official to visit Taiwan since Japan severed formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1972.