Lai was sworn in at Taiwan's presidential office in central Taipei, taking over from Tsai Ing-wen, having served as her vice president for the past four years. His role as Taiwan's new president puts him at the helm of the self-ruled island as China ramps up military and political pressure on Taiwan. Taiwan’s new president takes office as China says...

Taiwan’s first female president has presided over big social changes, but her main legacy is the cultivation of the island’s rising prominence on the world stageTaiwan’s new president takes office as China says independence and peace ‘like water and fire’In a riot of yellow braids, glitter and spandex, garnished with a huge yellow water lily, Taiwan’s...

Lai represents an historic third term in power for the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive party (DPP) and will replace incumbant Tsai Ing-wenWho is Lai Ching-te?Taiwan’s new president to take officeSee all of our Taiwan coverageLai’s motorcade has just arrived at the presidential office.The ADIZ incursions are part of Beijing’s repertoire of greyzone...

Lai Ching-te expected to use inauguration speech to call for China and Taiwan to pursue peaceLai Ching-te becomes new Taiwan president – follow it liveLai Ching-te has been sworn in as Taiwan’s new president, a role that puts him at the helm of the self-ruled island as China ramps up military and political pressure on Taipei.Lai was sworn in on Monday...

Dali L Yang’s critique of China’s response in the early days of the Covid pandemic is thoroughgoing if academic, while poet Liao Yiwu’s account mixes fact and fiction to extraordinary effectCast your mind back, if you will, to the beginning of the pandemic, before the World Health Organization had coined the term Covid-19. Back then, it was the “Wuhan...

Protectionism in the form of tariffs is justified but the focus will be on whether Beijing retaliatesThe global economy is fragmenting and a new era of protectionism has dawned. Dreams by free marketeers of a frictionless world in which goods and services moved seamlessly from country to country are dead.That was the clear message from Joe Biden’s decision...