Taiwanese leader welcomes talks between Washington and Beijing ‘to reduce risk of war’
Por Amber Wang — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Taiwan China Politics Taiwanese leader welcomes talks between Washington and Beijing ‘to reduce risk of war’
Although William Lai adopted a softer tone than in previous years, Beijing says his Double Tenth speech still ‘revealed sinister motives’
4 -MIN READ 4 -MIN 2 Listen
Amber Wang in Beijing Published: 6:09pm, 10 Oct 2026 Updated: 6:32pm, 10 Oct 2026
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has welcomed talks between Washington and Beijing aimed at reducing the risk of conflict.
Lai’s annual Double Tenth address, marking the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name, also called for democracies to work together to safeguard regional peace and for the Taiwanese people’s right to exist to be respected.
But Beijing said he had shown his true colours and accused him of “stirring up confrontation across the Taiwan Strait”.
“Lai Ching-te’s speech disregarded facts … misled the public and revealed sinister motives, constituting a performance true to form by a ‘pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence’,” said Zhang Han, a spokeswoman for the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office, using a label Lai had previously attached to himself.
Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
