On Thursday, China’s foreign ministry condemned Mr Lai for being “hell-bent” on independence.
The speech “exposed his hell-bent position on independence and his sinister intention to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait for political self-interest,” Mao Ning, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing.
Ahead of the speech, the United States urged “restraint” from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and warned that Beijing could use Mr Lai’s remarks as a “pretext” for taking military action.
“We see no justification for a routine annual celebration to be used in this manner,” said a senior official in the Biden administration.
Mr Lai’s address was widely viewed as robust but measured.
He reiterated his government’s position that China has no right to represent Taiwan, stressing that the Republic of China, the island’s formal name, and the People’s Republic of China are “not subordinate to each other”.
But he also struck a conciliatory note, offering to coordinate with Beijing on “addressing climate change, combating infectious diseases, and maintaining regional security to pursue peace and mutual prosperity for the well-being of the people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.”
Lev Nachman, a political science professor at National Taiwan University, told The Telegraph that Mr Lai had taken a “pragmatic tone” and made “reasonable cross-Strait statements” while avoiding “snarky” lines and “cheap jabs at China” that he had used in the past.
China ‘reacts negatively to Taiwan no matter what’
However, a reaction from Beijing was likely as it “reacts negatively no matter what”, he said.
“The speech from today didn’t really give China much ammo but Lai’s past comments have so I’m more inclined to think we are still going to see some sort of reaction from the People’s Republic of China.”
Beijing’s threats towards Taiwan and its increasingly aggressive expansion across the East and South China Seas have created friction with Western nations, including the UK.
David Lammy, the British Foreign Secretary, is expected to visit China next week, in what sources told Reuters was an attempt to seek less confrontational ties with the world’s second-largest economy and to resume trade and investment talks.
British officials say the Government wants to recalibrate the more hawkish approach of the previous Conservative administration, which described China as an “epoch-defining challenge”.
However, the Global Times, a Chinese state media outlet, accused the UK of having a “contradictory mindset” by eyeing deeper engagement while also seeking to suppress China.
Mr Lammy was planning to visit in a bid to reset ties while the head of MI5 was “hyping the China threat”, it said, referring to Ken McCallum’s comments this week that China posed a significant risk, particularly in obtaining sensitive information.
Mr McCallum called for a nuanced approach to relations with Beijing during his annual update on threats faced by the UK.
“The UK-China economic relationship supports UK growth, which underpins our security. And there are also risks to be managed,” he said.