William Lai, a China hawk, chosen as presidential candidate by Taiwan’s ruling party in upcoming elections

Taiwan’s ruling party has nominated Vice President William Lai as its candidate for the 2024 presidential elections. Lai is known for being more vocal about Taiwanese independence than the current president, Tsai Ing-wen. This nomination is likely to anger China, which sees Taiwan as part of its own territory. Lai has previously described himself as a “pragmatic Taiwan independence worker” and believes that Taiwan cannot attain a peaceful future by appeasing China. He has urged the island’s residents to unite against China’s authoritarianism. Lai will be running against candidates from other parties in next year’s elections, which he describes as a choice between democracy and authoritarianism.