Why did Taiwan’s William Lai tone down his rhetoric on mainland China?

In his address on Tuesday, Lai – the man Beijing brands as a troublemaker – made no mention of mainland China or cross-strait relations, an omission that observers saw as a calculated departure from his typically assertive rhetoric on Beijing and Taiwan’s self-governing status.

Lai also extended an olive branch to the island’s opposition parties – the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) and the smaller opposition Taiwan People’s Party – by offering to brief their leaders on national security matters.

It was a noticeable shift in tone.

Since taking office on May 20 last year, Lai has regularly used major public addresses to assert that Taiwan and the mainland “are not subordinate to each other” and described Beijing as a “hostile foreign force”.

But on Tuesday, Lai only mentioned Beijing when asked by reporters.

South China Morning Post