ANALYSIS/As presidential race kicks off, China policy takes center stage

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) used a speech marking the first anniversary of his inauguration to reaffirm his ability to manage U.S.-Taiwan relations and ease tensions with the opposition amid domestic and international pressure, scholars told CNA, as he enters the second year of his presidency.

China's approach to Taiwan is unlikely to change regardless of remarks by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), which some have labeled as "provocative," as Beijing's actions are more closely driven by President Xi Jinping's (習近平) goal of achieving unification than by rhetoric from Taipei, scholars told CNA on Tuesday.

The People's Liberation Army's (PLA) large-scale joint exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday were accompanied by strident propaganda comparing itself to a mighty monkey warrior in Chinese mythology and Taiwan's president to a parasite, but experts say these messages were primarily meant for domestic audiences and lost on the people in Taiwan.