Lai Ching-te

Lai Ching‑te
賴清德
Official portrait, 2024
8th President of the Republic of China
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 May 2024
Premier	Cho Jung-tai
Vice President	Hsiao Bi-khim
Preceded by	Tsai Ing-wen
18th Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 January 2023
Secretary General	Hsu Li-ming Yang Yi-shan (acting) Lin Yu-chang
Preceded by	Chen Chi-mai (acting)
12th Vice President of the Republic of China
In office 20 May 2020 – 20 May 2024
President	Tsai Ing-wen
Preceded by	Chen Chien-jen
Succeeded by	Hsiao Bi-khim
29th Premier of the Republic of China
In office 8 September 2017 – 14 January 2019
President	Tsai Ing-wen
Vice Premier	Shih Jun-ji
Preceded by	Lin Chuan
Succeeded by	Su Tseng-chang
1st Mayor of Tainan
In office 25 December 2010 – 7 September 2017
Deputy	Hsu He-chun
Preceded by	Position established[a]
Succeeded by	Li Meng-yen (acting)
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office 1 February 2008 – 25 December 2010
Constituency	Tainan II
In office 1 February 1999 – 31 January 2008
Constituency	Tainan City
Personal details
Born	(1959-10-06) 6 October 1959 (age 64) Wanli, Taipei County, Taiwan (now Wanli, New Taipei City, Taiwan)
Political party	Democratic Progressive Party New Tide faction
Spouse	Wu Mei-ju ​ (m. 1986)​
Children	2
Education	National Taiwan University (BS) National Cheng Kung University (BMed) Harvard University (MPH)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	賴清德
Simplified Chinese	赖清德
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lài Qīngdé Bopomofo ㄌㄞˋ ㄑㄧㄥ ㄉㄜˊ Wade–Giles Lai4 Chʻing1-te2 Tongyong Pinyin Lài Cing-dé IPA [lâɪ tɕʰíŋ.tɤ̌] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Laih Chīng Dàk Jyutping lai6 cing1 dak1 IPA [lɐi˨ tsʰeŋ˥ tɐk̚˥˧] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Loā Chheng-tek Tâi-lô Luā Tshing-tik

Lai Ching-te (Chinese: 賴清德; born 6 October 1959), also known as William Lai, is a Taiwanese politician and former physician who is currently serving as the 8th President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since May 2024. He is the third member from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to assume the office of president. He is also the third incumbent vice president to succeed to the presidency, and the first of which to assume the office through election instead of immediate succession. He has also served as the chair of the DPP since 2023.

Born to a working-class coal mining family in Taipei County, Lai studied rehabilitation and public health at universities in Taipei, ultimately obtaining a Master's degree from Harvard University in 2003. After serving as the president of the National Physician Support Association, Lai ran in the 1996 Legislative Yuan election, winning a seat representing Tainan City. After being re-elected to the Legislative Yuan four consecutive times, Lai ran for Mayor of Tainan in 2010. Lai won and served as mayor for seven years, winning reelection in 2014. In September 2017, President Tsai Ing-wen announced Lai would replace outgoing premier Lin Chuan.

On 24 November 2018, Lai announced his intention to resign from the premiership after the Democratic Progressive Party suffered a major defeat in local elections, and left office on 14 January 2019 after the swearing-in of his successor Su Tseng-chang. Lai mounted a challenge against Tsai in the 2019 Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary and after defeat, served as Tsai's running mate in the 2020 Taiwan presidential election in which the tandem was victorious. In April 2023, Lai was nominated by the DPP as their presidential candidate for the 2024 presidential election and was elected with 40.05% of votes. He took office as President on 20 May 2024.

Describing himself as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence", as he believes that it was possible to "love Taiwan while having an affinity to China", and considers both titles of "Taiwan" or "Republic of China" that can be used equitably and interchangeably in respect of the country name. Lai favors preserving the current status quo in regards to the political status of Taiwan, arguing that it is already an independent state under the name "Republic of China" that is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China (PRC), as well as strengthening relations with the United States and other liberal democracies.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).