Observers in Taipei noticed one missing line on Saturday. In his third Double Tenth speech, President Lai Ching-te left out his habitual line denying that either side of the Strait ranks below the other. He borrowed instead the hilltop city from the Sermon on the Mount as a model for the island.
He spoke outside the presidential building in Taipei, on the 115th birthday of the ROC, in an address built around that biblical picture of salt and light. Lai mixed security messages with domestic promises on families, housing and elder care, and he noted that 2026 marks thirty years since Taiwanese first elected their president directly.
On defence, his argument was that a stronger military exists to prevent war. Building up self-defence, he said, ensures that any dialogue with Beijing happens on equal footing. Peace is precious to Taiwan, he declared, yet freedom is not for sale, and the island welcomes exchanges while refusing to be belittled.
Lai also welcomed efforts by Washington and Beijing to manage their rivalry through talks, a nod, officials said, to last month’s US-China summit, while urging Indo-Pacific democracies to defend the regional status quo together.
Washington responded positively. A senior US official praised Lai’s commitment to stability and told Beijing that an ordinary annual address gives no excuse for coercion. Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office offered no immediate comment. China claims the island and labels Lai a separatist.
Whether military pressure follows is the open question. After Lai’s 2024 address, Beijing held large drills around Taiwan; in 2025 it refrained. Its latest exercises came in December, after an $11 billion arms sale became public. A further $14 billion deal still awaits Trump’s signature.
The holiday recalls the Wuchang uprising of 1911, which brought down the Qing dynasty. With local elections due late this year, Lai also appealed for unity across party lines.
