--- description: Find out why William Lai is one of the 100 most influential people of 2024. title: William Lai: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95ea025273853dcd/698a55940116821731985ab8/time-100-2024-william-lai.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 17, 2024 # William Lai by Jon Huntsman  Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's vice president and presidential candidate for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, at an election night rally outside the party headquarters during the presidential election in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024\. Taiwan looks set to elect Lai as its next leader after the main opposition candidate conceded, lining up a man Beijing has labeled an "instigator of war" for the presidency. Photographer: An Rong Xu/Bloomberg via Getty Images Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's vice president and presidential candidate for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, at an election night rally outside the party headquarters during the presidential election in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024\. Taiwan looks set to elect Lai as its next leader after the main opposition candidate conceded, lining up a man Beijing has labeled an "instigator of war" for the presidency. Photographer: An Rong Xu/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAn Rong Xu—Bloomberg/Getty Images Lai Ching-te, or William Lai, as he will be known throughout the world, will take office as [Taiwan’s next President](https://time.com/6555192/william-lai-ching-te-taiwan-president-future-challenges/ "undefined") in May. A coal miner’s son who prizes problem solving and trust, Lai is also a Harvard-trained public-health expert. But the health of the island’s 23 million inhabitants is just one part of a much larger task he is inheriting: ensuring his government’s very survival, amid China’s amped-up campaign to reclaim the nascent democracy. Former leader Chiang Kai-shek’s rigid legacy is no more—Taiwan’s energetic civil society is flourishing. Trade is booming, providing more than half the world’s critical chips, yet—with tensions rising with Beijing—its risk profile couldn’t be higher. For a politician who garnered only 40% in an unprecedented multiparty election, this feels like Atlas shouldering the world. But less mythological will be his choices and their impact on a world on edge—to say nothing of the future of democracy in Asia. _Huntsman, a Republican, is a former governor of Utah and a former U.S. ambassador to China_ _Order your copy of the 2024 TIME100 issue_ [_here_](https://magazineshop.us/TIME%5F100 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6965187/william-lai/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6965187/william-lai/"},"headline":"William Lai","datePublished":"2024-04-17T11:08:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:29:26.778Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6965187/william-lai/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","2024TIME100","T100Leaders2024"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95ea025273853dcd/698a55940116821731985ab8/time-100-2024-william-lai.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95ea025273853dcd/698a55940116821731985ab8/time-100-2024-william-lai.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6965187/william-lai/","name":"William Lai"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the TIME100 2024 list","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/73p9kgIN/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-04-17T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/73p9kgIN.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6965187/william-lai/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6965187/william-lai/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```