oath as the President of Taiwan
Taiwan's newly elected President
Lai Ching-te, also known as William
Lai, will take the oath of office on
May 20, 2024. He won the
presidential election in January
2024. Sixty-four-year-old Lai has
served as vice president for the
past four years during the second
term of current President Tsai Ing-
wen.
Lai welcomed a group of dignitaries
from countries that formally
recognize the Republic of China,
the formal name of Taiwan. Only 12
countries now maintain formal
diplomatic relations with Taiwan,
mostly poor developing countries.
Lai, disliked by Beijing as an
"isolationist", is expected to pledge
in his inaugural speech to secure
stability in the island's relations
with China by maintaining the
status quo.
Taiwan came under the control of
China during the Ching Dynasty but
after China's defeat in the Sino-
Japanese War in 1895, it came
under the control of Japan. After
Japan's defeat in World War II,
China re-occupied Taiwan in 1945.
The roots of the Taiwan issue can
be seen in the civil war (1927–1950)
between the Nationalist Party
(Kuomintang) and the Communist
Party of China (CPC). Taiwan and
China have had separate
governments since a civil war in
1949.
Andrej Plenkovic – Prime Minister
of Croatia
Croatian conservative leader
Andrej Plenkovic was formally
appointed prime minister for the
third consecutive time after
forming a coalition with the right-
wing Homeland Movement party.
Plenkovic's ruling Croatian
Democratic Union won the most
votes in last month's
parliamentary vote in the EU
nation, but not enough to stay in
power on its own.
Lawmakers are set to approve
Plenkovic's new government next
week. It will have a slim majority of
78 MPs in the 151-member
assembly, which could usher in
political uncertainty
