TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) invited academics known as supporters of the opposition Kuomintang to discuss his strategy for the peaceful defense of Taiwan against China’s annexation plans, reports said Friday (March 10).

Even though he has not declared his candidacy yet, Lai has been widely seen as the front runner for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidacy in the Jan. 13, 2024 presidential election.

With mounting interest in his China policies, he held discussions with prominent professors seen as former supporters of the pro-China New Party and of the People First Party (PFP), Sanlih E-TV reported Friday.

Yao Li-ming (姚立明), once a close collaborator of former Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), acted as go-between to contact former Taipei City Deputy Mayor Teng Chia-chi (鄧家基), former PFP lawmaker Thomas Lee (李桐豪), and National Taiwan Normal University Professor Chu Chao-hsiang (曲兆祥).

The vice president, who also chairs the DPP, spent most of the meeting listening to the academics’ views on the opposition Kuomintang’s (KMT) likely presidential campaign strategy and to their suggestions for his policy plan for the “peaceful defense of Taiwan,” Chu said.

Later Friday, Lai visited an exhibition in Tainan City organized by the Nylon Cheng (鄭南榕) Liberty Foundation. He showed a magazine cover edited by the democracy activist before he burned himself to death in 1989 to protest against restrictions on freedom of speech.

Lai pointed out how Cheng had written a title asking a question still more than relevant today, “Will China attack Taiwan?” The vice president said the problem still had to be solved in the present situation in order to safeguard Taiwan’s freedoms, the China Times reported.