On May 20, Tsai Ing-wen was inaugurated as the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan), with Vice President Hsiao Mei-chin alongside her. Tsai received the seal of the Republic of China, the seal of honor, and the presidential seal from the former Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu. Hsiao took the vice presidential seal. The inauguration ceremony marked the official assumption of office by Tsai and Hsiao as President and Vice President of the Republic of China.
On the same day, the topic tag “Tsai Ing-wen” was blocked on mainland China’s Weibo platform. When testing by Epoch Times reporters, it was found that searching for the topic tag “Tsai Ing-wen” on Weibo did not yield any relevant results. Weibo stated that “based on relevant laws and regulations and policies, the content of this topic is not displayed,” only showing news from the Russian news agency about Tsai’s inauguration. However, a few related news articles did appear when searching for “Tsai Ing-wen.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of State released a statement congratulating Tsai on her inauguration and congratulating the Taiwanese people for once again demonstrating strong democracy.
Following the inauguration ceremony, Tsai addressed the crowd in front of the Presidential Office Building. In his speech, he touched on cross-strait relations.
President Tsai stated that the future of cross-strait relations has a decisive impact on the global situation, and Taiwan, as the bearer of democratization, will be a peaceful helmsman, with the new government upholding the “Four Persistences” and maintaining the status quo without arrogance or servility.
He called on the Chinese Communist Party to cease its cultural and military intimidation of Taiwan, to share global responsibilities with Taiwan, and to work towards the maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region, ensuring the world is free from the fear of war.
President Tsai emphasized that the people of Taiwan cherish peace and kindness, and he has always believed that if national leaders prioritize the well-being of the people, peace in the Taiwan Strait, mutual benefit, coexistence, and mutual prosperity should be common goals.
He also expressed hope that the Chinese Communist Party would acknowledge the existence of the Republic of China, respect the choices of the Taiwanese people, show sincerity, engage with Taiwan’s democratically elected government on the basis of equality and dignity, replace confrontation with dialogue, containment with engagement, and embark on cooperation. This could start with reopening equal bilateral tourism and allowing Chinese students to study in Taiwan, working together towards peace and prosperity.