Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te on Thursday said his administration will tighten regulations on trade with and travel to China, as well as on Chinese nationals seeking residency in Taiwan, pushing back against what he described as mounting infiltration by Beijing.
The moves and comments mark some of Lai’s most significant actions and strongest language against threats from China since he took office last May.
“For decades, China’s ambition to annex Taiwan, eliminate the Republic of China, has not changed for a single day. It not only continues to threaten Taiwan, its infiltration into Taiwanese society is also getting more serious,” Lai told reporters after hosting a national security conference.
Lai said the government has determined that Beijing is seeking to “force” Taiwanese companies to expand their investments in China, while “luring” young Taiwanese to develop their careers in China and attempting to “steal critical technologies.” In 2024, he said, 64 people accused of involvement in Chinese spying activity were prosecuted, triple the number in 2021.
China also takes advantage of Taiwan’s democracy and diversity to induce gangsters, the media, commentators, political parties and online celebrities to “divide and sabotage our society from within,” Lai said.
Stressing that all this threatens Taiwan’s economic security, Lai said: “China’s acts are the definition of a foreign hostile force under our Anti-Infiltration Act. We have no choice but to take more active measures.” The plans also include restarting military trials aimed at countering Chinese influence within the armed forces.
This is the first time Lai, whom China has branded a pro-independence “separatist,” has publicly described Beijing as a “foreign hostile force” — a statement likely to ratchet up cross-strait tensions.
Asked about Lai’s comments at a regular briefing on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning insisted that Taiwan has “no ‘president'” and that it was “not a diplomatic issue.”
“What I can tell you,” she said, “is that no matter what the DPP authorities say, it cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China, and it cannot change the general trend of the motherland’s inevitable reunification,” referring to Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party.
