Lai Ching-te

Some Lesser Known Facts About Lai Ching-te

• Lai Ching-te was born in a coal-mining family in Taipei County (now New Taipei City), Taiwan.

• He was merely a year old when his father died of carbon monoxide poisoning while working in a coal mine in Wanli. After that, his mother raised him and his siblings alone.

• After graduating from National Taiwan University and National Cheng Kung University, Lai attended Harvard University to pursue a master’s degree in Public Health, making him one of the few physicians in Taiwan with rehabilitation, clinical care, and public health expertise.

• He later interned at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan and became an expert on spinal cord damage and served as a national consultant for such injuries.

• After graduation, he served in the Republic of China Armed Forces. He was posted in Kinmen, Taiwan, and served as the medical platoon leader. Lai also worked at the Granite Hospital in Kinmen while serving in the army.
  

  

  

• Lai’s first time away from home after college was serving in Kinmen for over a year. He was so eager to return home that he retired and left for home on the same day.

• In 1994, while serving as the chief resident at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Lai got involved in public affairs. He led a physicians’ association supporting Chen Ding-nan, the DPP candidate for governor, during Taiwan’s first direct election for Taiwan’s provincial governor.

• He then served as the adviser at Spinal Cord Injury Association of Tainan City and National Teachers’ Association, ROC.

• He once worked as the doctor in charge in the Nephrology department at the Sin Lau Hospital, The Presbyterian Church of Taiwan and the National Cheng Kung University Hospital.

• During the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1996, Lai left his medical career to enter politics. He won the highest number of votes from Tainan City in the election for National Assembly representatives.

• In 1998, Lai won a seat in the Legislature Yuan and represented Tainan City. He actively contributed to the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee and solved over 100,000 local concerns.

  

• While serving as a Member of the Legislative Yuan in 1998, Lai worked as a chairman of the legislature’s Health, Welfare and Environment Foundation.

• In 1998, he worked as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip and led delegations to Japan and the US for parliamentary diplomacy. He was also part of a team promoting Taiwan’s membership in the World Health Organisation (WHO) and visited 22 countries including Korea, Japan, and the US.

• He served as the co-chairman of the 4th Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.

• He served as the co-chairman of the 5th Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary Committee and Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.

• He served as the co-chairman of the 6th Legislative Yuan’s Procedure Committee.

• In 2004, he participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program organised by the US Department of State.

• In 2010, Lai was elected as the 1st Mayor of Tainan City with 60.41% votes; he defeated the Kuomintang candidate Kuo Tien-tsai. In 2014, he was re-elected as the Mayor of Tainan with a margin of 72% votes.

• While serving as a mayor from 2010 to 2017, Lai worked with the Japanese government, the National Diet, and private sectors to promote cultural exchanges, tourism, sports, agriculture, and disaster relief. He also established a sister-city agreement with Japan.

  

• Lai resigned from his position as a Mayor after being announced as the Premier of the Republic of China by the President of the Republic of China Tsai Ing-wen on 5 September 2017; Tsai announced also Lai to be the head of the Executive Yuan.

  

• During his first appearance as a Premier at the Legislative Yuan, he advocated for Taiwan’s independence but also emphasised that Taiwan was already an independent sovereign called the Republic of China.

• In November 2018, Lai resigned as the Premier of the Republic of China after the Democratic Progressive Party suffered a major defeat in local elections. He, however, stayed to help until the general budget was approved in January 2019.

• While serving as vice president, Lai represented Tsai Ing-wen as a special envoy at President Xiomara Castro’s inauguration in Honduras in January 2022.

• In July 2022, Lai visited Tokyo privately to attend the funeral of the Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe, which made him the highest-ranking Taiwanese official to visit Japan after five decades; Shinzō Abe was assassinated at the Nara Medical University Hospital in Japan on 8 July 2022.

  

• In November 2022, President Tsai Ing-wen stepped down as the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after the party lost local elections. In December, Lai ran for DPP chairmanship and won since he was the only candidate; he was elected as the chairman of DPP on 18 January 2023.

• In March 2023, Lai registered for the 2024 Taiwanese presidential election as a DDP candidate; he was the only contestant from the party to enter the race.

• In 2023, the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) members accused Lai’s family of illegally expanding their Wanli District house. They claimed it should have been demolished by the New Taipei City government. Lai, however, later refuted the claims and pledged to convert the house into a miner’s museum.

  

• On 13 January 2024, Lai won the Taiwanese presidential election with over 40% votes.

  

• He was sworn in as the 16th President of the Republic of China on 20 May 2024; his inaugural ceremony was held at the Presidential Palace in Taipei.

  

• Lai is the third Vice President of Taiwan to become President and the first to achieve this through election rather than taking over the position due to a predecessor’s death.

• Lai has a passion for sports, especially baseball.

  

• He consumes alcohol occasionally.

  

• Lai is an avid animal lover and often participates in events dedicated to their well-being.