TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) 2024 presidential candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) posted an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday (July 4) outlining his plan for peace in the Taiwan Strait.

In the piece, Lai laid out what he described as a "four-pillar plan for peace," with the first pillar being that Taiwan must build up its deterrence, and the second, that economic security equates to national security. The third pillar is based on building partnerships with democratic countries around the world, while the fourth is "steady and principled cross-strait leadership."

For deterrence, Lai said under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Taiwan has raised its defense budget, reformed conscription and the reserve system, and enacted new practices in the military. If elected president, Lai said that he would speed Taiwan's transition into an "asymmetric fighting force," while also stepping up cooperation with partners and allies, especially in the areas of "training, force restructuring, civil defense, and information sharing."

Lai described economic security as equating to national security, hailed the growth of the semiconductor industry, and said that as premier he had led policies that raised salaries, lowered taxes, and drew new investment. He cautioned that Taiwan's overreliance on trade with China has generated vulnerabilities to economic coercion and called for a strengthening of supply chains while seeking trade agreements that encourage diversification.

Regarding the fostering of partnerships with other democracies, Lai noted that Taiwan was the first Asian country to send a medical team to Ukraine. Despite pressure from Beijing, Lai highlighted the fact that, "Record numbers of parliamentarians, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks and official delegations have visited Taiwan..."

In terms of cross-strait leadership, Lai criticized China for cutting off exchanges with Taiwan, Xi Jinping (習近平) for insisting on unification, and the People's Liberation Army for stoking military tensions with coercive actions. Faced with these challenges, Lai pledged to prioritize pragmatism and consistency, uphold the cross-strait status quo, and "never rule out the possibility of dialogue without preconditions, based on the principles of reciprocity and dignity."

On April 12, the DPP held a Central Executive Committee meeting and formally nominated Lai, the party's chair, as its 2024 presidential election candidate. Lai said after being nominated that he would devote himself to three major initiatives, “democratic unity," "democratic governance," and "democratic peace," to build a country full of hope.

While attending a campaign event on Sunday (July 2), Lai pledged that he would use peace as a goal and a beacon and use democracy as a compass to "lead the 23.5 million people on this boat in Taiwan to advance bravely and develop prosperously."