Lai Ching-te biography: 13 things about Taiwan’s 12th vice president

Lai Ching-te (賴清德) is a Taiwanese politician born in Wanli, Taiwan. He and his wife Wu Mei-ju have two sons together.

A former physician, Lai is an expert on spinal cord damage. He served as a national consultant for such injuries in Taiwan.

Lai attended National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan and National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan where he studied rehabilitation. He earned his master’s degree in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Also known as William Lai, Lai describes himself as a pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. On January 8, 1960, his father died of carbon monoxide poisoning while working in the coal mines of Wanli. His mother singlehandedly raised him and his five siblings.
2. In 1986, he and Wu got married.
3. In 1994, he was part of the support team for Chen Ding-nan‘s unsuccessful electoral bid for governor of Taiwan Province.
4. In 1996, he won a seat representing Tainan in the National Assembly of Taiwan.
5. In 1998, he was elected as a member of the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan, representing the Democratic Progressive Party in the second ward of Tainan. He was reelected in 2001, 2004 and 2008.
6. On November 27, 2010, he won the election as the DPP candidate for mayor of Tainan, defeating his Kuomintang opponent Kuo Tien-tsai.
7. On December 25, 2010, he took office as the mayor of Tainan.
8. On November 29, 2014, he was reelected as the mayor of Tainan, defeating his Kuomintang opponent Huang Hsiu-shuang.
9. On September 8, 2017, he stepped down as mayor of Tainan and took office as the 49th premier of Taiwan.
10. On May 20, 2020, he assumed office as the 12th vice president of Taiwan.
11. In November 2022, he visited Palau.
12. On January 18, 2023, he assumed office as the chairman of the DPP. On October 6, 2023, he turned 64.
13. On January 13, 2024, he was elected as the eighth president of Taiwan, defeating his Kuomintang opponent Hou Yu-ih. On May 20, 2024, he will assume office.