'Taiwan independence' ideology condemned

Lai Ching-te blatantly peddled "Taiwan independence" in his speech after assuming the role of the Taiwan region's new leader on Monday, and while the address was full of "pro-independence" sentiment, it lacked a legal basis, experts said.

Bao Chengke, assistant director at the Institute for East Asian Studies in Shanghai, said the speech by Lai was a presentation of the "Taiwan independence" ideology cloaked in the rhetoric of a so-called "two-state" theory.

In his speech, Lai was following the "pro-independence" path taken by his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, by attempting to sever Taiwan's history from that of the Chinese nation, and blatantly claiming that Taiwan is a "sovereign, independent nation", which lacks a legal basis, he said.