Hello, viewers! Welcome to “Century Truth”.
On the morning of January 1, 2026, President of the Republic of China, Lai Ching-te, delivered a New Year’s speech titled “Resilient Island, Beacon of Hope”. He emphasized that “2026 marks the 30th anniversary of direct presidential elections in Taiwan, which is crucial for the country.” President Lai stated, “I am an elected president, entrusted by the people, and I will do everything to protect our nation and defend the hard-won democratic way of life of our people.”
President Lai’s speech highlighted two key terms: “direct elections” and “elected president”.
These two key terms directly hit another sore spot for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Eighty years ago, the CCP pledged to implement “universal, equal, and anonymous elections”; however, after 76 years in power, the CCP has never held a genuine election, let alone direct elections for national leadership.
In today’s program, we will contrast “democratic freedom in Taiwan” with “authoritarian dictatorship in the CCP” starting from President Lai Ching-te’s speech.
Let’s first look at the CCP: since seizing power in 1949, the CCP has never conducted genuine elections.
As early as September 27, 1945, CCP leader Mao Zedong told a Reuters reporter, Garret, “A ‘Free and Democratic China’ will be a country where all levels of government, including the central government, are produced by universal, equal, and anonymous elections, and are accountable to the people who elect them. It will realize Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People, Lincoln’s government of, by, and for the people, and Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms.”
At that time, Mao painted a beautiful picture of a free and democratic China, focusing on democratic elections, incorporating the political ideals of Sun Yat-sen, Lincoln, and Roosevelt into the CCP’s political blueprint.
However, since the CCP’s overthrow of the Republic of China on the mainland in 1949, the CCP has never fulfilled this public promise of genuine elections.
No CCP party member has ever directly elected the General Secretary of the CCP. Even the delegates of the National Party Congress have never directly elected the General Secretary of the CCP. The candidate for General Secretary is predetermined by the previous central leadership before the election. Subsequently, the Central Committee “elects” them. This election is merely a formality.
Furthermore, other CCP leaders, including the President, the Chairman of the National People’s Congress, and the Premier, are all predetermined by the previous central leadership. After the National Party Congress concludes, the Politburo Standing Committee is elected by the Central Committee. Once this committee is announced, the next President, Chairman of the National People’s Congress, and Premier are set. The subsequent National People’s Congress held the following year is just a procedural vote.
The election of the CCP’s party and state leaders has never been about competition. The candidates do not need to publicly express their governing ideologies or policy positions to voters. It’s a mystery to the majority of ordinary Chinese citizens how the CCP and state leaders are actually chosen.
CCP leader election spending all comes from taxpayers. How much money each election actually costs has never been disclosed to the public.
Therefore, since taking power, the CCP has never received legitimate authorization from the Chinese people. The CCP regime primarily relies on political oppression enforced by the barrel of a gun (military), the blade of authoritarianism, and the pen of propaganda.
Strictly speaking, the CCP regime has always been illegitimate; it is an illegal regime.
Now let’s shift our focus to Taiwan.
In 1996, Taiwan held its first direct presidential election, where eligible Taiwanese voters directly elected the President. Lee Teng-hui became the first directly elected president in Taiwan’s history.
Since then, Taiwan has conducted a direct presidential election every four years. From 1996 to 2026, over 30 years, Taiwan has held eight presidential elections, leading to a democratic political norm where power alternates between the Kuomintang and the Democratic Progressive Party, following the rule of law, peaceably, and in an orderly manner.
Over time, Taiwan’s direct presidential election system has gradually improved. In 1994, Taiwan amended its constitution to establish the “presidential election” principle. In 1995, the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan formulated the “Election and Recall Act of the President and Vice President”, which has undergone multiple revisions. The latest version was finalized on June 9, 2023. Key aspects of the act include election methods, election authorities, voter qualifications, candidate qualifications, candidate registration requirements, and conditions for winning.
This election system has six characteristics: first, selecting one candidate out of two or more presidential candidates; second, allowing citizens with voting rights to vote and requiring voter identity verification; third, conducting various campaign activities to vie for votes; fourth, ensuring an open and transparent election process; fifth, funding elections primarily through political donations; and sixth, avoiding early voting, proxy voting, electronic voting, etc., to minimize election fraud.
On February 27, 2025, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released the Democracy Index of 2024. Of the 167 countries and regions worldwide, Taiwan ranked 12th and topped in Asia.
The EIU classifies 167 countries and regions into “full democracy,” “flawed democracy,” “hybrid regime,” and “authoritarian regime” based on total scores. Taiwan is classified as a “full democracy.”
The implementation and improvement of Taiwan’s democratic system stand in stark contrast to the CCP’s “reality of authoritarianism under the guise of false democracy.” The CCP is deeply uncomfortable with Taiwan’s democracy, thus they employ various tactics to interfere and undermine it.
For example, during the presidential elections in Taiwan in 2016, 2020, and 2024, the CCP intervened comprehensively, hoping for a pro-CCP party to win. However, all these interventions ended in failure.
Lai Ching-te was born into poverty, the son of a miner whose father passed away when he was young. Lai went on to become a doctor. In 1996, Lai was elected as the National Assembly Representative for the first district of Tainan City and entered politics from there. Less than two years into his presidency, Lai struck the CCP’s sore spots three times, greatly infuriating them:
The first instance was on September 1, 2024, when Era News TV aired a famous host, Zhang Yaqin’s interview with Lai Ching-te.
Lai Ching-te said, “China’s aim to annex Taiwan is not about territorial integrity. If it were really about territorial integrity, why not reclaim the lands occupied by the Treaty of Aigun signed with Russia?”
This statement left the CCP’s “wolf warriors” speechless for days, and it wasn’t until September 5th that the Taiwan Affairs Office of the CCP issued a written statement calling Lai Ching-te’s words “nonsense.”
However, what Lai Ching-te said wasn’t “nonsense” but historical facts known to every middle school student in mainland China.
In 1858, Tsarist Russia forced the Qing government to sign the Sino-Russian Treaty of Aigun, compelling the Qing government to cede over 600,000 square kilometers of Chinese land north of the Heilongjiang River to Russia. In 1860, Tsarist Russia forced the Qing government to sign the Treaty of Beijing, demanding the cession of over 400,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory east of the Ussuri River to Russia, confirming the validity of the Treaty of Aigun.
In modern Chinese history, these two unequal treaties, the Treaty of Aigun and the Treaty of Beijing, led to over 1 million square kilometers of Chinese territory being ceded to Russia.
However, on December 9, 1999, the CCP dictator Jiang Zemin not only didn’t attempt to reclaim the lands occupied by Tsarist Russia but instead signed the “Sino-Russian Description Agreement of the Eastern and Western Sections of the Sino-Russian Boundary,” unconditionally giving away over 1 million square kilometers of Chinese territory to Russia.
Jiang Zemin was consequently known as the biggest traitor in contemporary China for his egregious crimes against China’s national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security. Yet, there wasn’t a single party organization within the CCP, including party groups, disciplinary committees, political and legal committees, national security committees, nor any party media outlet like CCTV, People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, that dared to speak out against Jiang Zemin’s actions.
The CCP thus became the largest traitorous party in the world today. As the largest traitorous party, how could the CCP possibly claim to be fighting for territorial integrity?
Lai Ching-te’s “golden phrases” shattered the CCP’s fabrications of fighting for territorial integrity.
Lai Ching-te’s second impactful strike on the CCP occurred on October 5, 2024.
During the National Day celebration in Taipei, President Lai addressed the audience saying, “The People’s Republic of China celebrated its 75th birthday on October 1, and in a few days, the Republic of China will be turning 113 years old. In terms of age, it’s absolutely impossible for the People’s Republic of China to become the ancestral land of the people of the Republic of China. Instead, the Republic of China may be the ancestral land for the people of the People’s Republic of China aged over 75.”
Lai Ching-te’s statement elicited laughter from the audience; related remarks stirred discussions in overseas media.
While Lai Ching-te’s expression seemed novel, it was essentially stating the obvious. The first democratic republic in Asia, the Republic of China, was established in 1912. The year 1949 marked the CCP’s overthrow of the Republic of China on the mainland, but the Republic of China did not cease to exist; it relocated to Taiwan. In 2024, the Republic of China turned 113 years old. In terms of age, the Republic of China is 38 years older than the People’s Republic of China.
The CCP always wants the people of Taiwan to recognize the People’s Republic of China as their ancestral land, which is simply laughable.
Japanese senior media figure Akiyo Yabu commented that Lai Ching-te’s explanation of 113 years and 75 years makes it hard for the CCP to refute. Throughout history, China has emphasized the importance of respecting seniority; it is absurd for junior members to always push the “elders” to acknowledge them as ancestors.
Many netizens expressed their appreciation for President Lai’s intriguing remarks at the National Day celebration. They felt that his profound understanding of history and reality cleverly defended Taiwan’s position, leaving a lasting impression.
Lai Ching-te’s “golden phrases” rendered the CCP speechless in the face of his witty retorts.
Lai Ching-te delivered his third impactful blow to the CCP on January 1, 2026.
In his New Year’s speech, Lai Ching-te mentioned the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s direct presidential election and his status as an “elected president,” once again hitting one of the CCP’s most sensitive points.
The CCP claims to be a centennial party, yet it has failed to establish a legitimate, peaceful, and orderly succession mechanism for the highest leaders.
Mao Zedong failed to resolve the issue of successors. Mao selected four successors in succession: the first, Liu Shaoqi, was killed by Mao in the Cultural Revolution; the second, Lin Biao, fled and died in Mongolia before Mao could overthrow him; the third, Wang Hongwen, was insignificant and sidelined by Mao; and the fourth, Hua Guofeng, was entrusted by Mao, but soon after Mao’s death, he arrested Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing, and labeled her the “ringleader of a counterrevolutionary group.”
Deng Xiaoping also failed to solve the successor issue. After becoming the core of the second-generation leadership of the CCP, Deng disposed of three party leaders successively, including Hua Guofeng, Hu Yaobang, and Zhao Ziyang.
Jiang Zemin also failed to solve the successor problem. Jiang’s favored successor was his “strategist” Zeng Qinghong, but Deng Xiaoping distrusted Jiang Zemin and had earlier designated Hu Jintao as the successor. After Hu Jintao came to power, Jiang promoted his confidants Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou as members of the CCP Politburo and Central Military Commission, marginalizing Hu Jintao; as a result, during Hu’s reign, he was just a puppet and had no real power.
When Xi Jinping took power at the 18th National Congress of the CCP, two “post-60s” leaders were elected as members of the CCP Politburo: Sun Zhengcai and Hu Chunhua, both born in 1963. Traditionally, one might have been a potential successor to the Central Committee General Secretary, and the other a potential successor to the Premier of the State Council. However, before the 19th National Congress, Sun Zhengcai was arrested, effectively ending his role as a successor. Prior to the 20th National Congress, Hu Chunhua was marginalized from the CCP Politburo and exiled to the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference as a ceremonial position. Essentially, he was also dismissed as a potential successor.
Before the 20th National Congress, many speculated about who Xi’s successor would be. After much guessing, it turned out that Xi Jinping’s successor was none other than Xi Jinping himself. Breaking the CCP’s tradition of no leader serving more than two terms post-Cultural Revolution, Xi managed to secure a “third term” at the 20th National Congress.
By the beginning of 2026, thirteen years into Xi’s leadership, there has still been no clear indication of who his successor will be. It seems that anyone speculated to succeed him ends up in a difficult position. There were rumors that Chen Min’er might become Xi’s successor; however, Chen Min’er didn’t ascend to the Politburo Standing Committee even during the 20th National Congress, being sidelined by Xi.
From the Mao era to the Xi era, becoming a successor within the CCP is a perilous endeavor. The moment one is confirmed or rumored to be a successor comes with intense power struggles, even life-and-death battles.
The highest CCP leaders either emerged from internal struggles or were compromises of the CCP’s “political elders,” with not a single leader emerging through a legitimate, legal, and effective competitive process.
As the wheel of history rolls into 2026, Iranians vehemently resist dictator Hamani, while Venezuelan dictator Maduro is arrested by the US military. The precarious situations of these two brothers-in-arms, Iran and Venezuela, have also rung alarm bells for the autocratic regime of the CCP.
Though Taiwan may be small in size, standing unyielding for 76 years alongside the colossal entity of the CCP, Taiwan undeniably embodies a “resilient island.” As long as Taiwanese leaders adhere to justice and democracy, they will not only bring “the light of hope” to Taiwan’s 23 million people but also potentially enlighten the hundreds of millions of people in mainland China.
Today, the CCP finds itself in a comprehensive crisis, facing widespread discontent and challenges from all sides. Perhaps one day, Taiwan will continue to stand tall like a plum blossom in the snow, while the CCP collapses overnight.
That concludes today’s program. Thank you for watching. If you enjoyed our show, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share. We’ll see you next time.