TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) will embark on a 10-stage speaking tour to boost national unity, the Presidential Office said Saturday.

The program follows the refusal of opposition leaders to attend a national security briefing on June 18. 

Lai’s speaking tour will begin with an address on the theme of “country” at a Rotary Club meeting Sunday, the Liberty Times reported. Each speech will concentrate on a specific theme, including solidarity, the constitutional system, defense, diplomacy, relations with China, democracy, peace, prosperity, and a balanced Taiwan.

Lai is set to take the country’s constitutional situation as his starting point before arriving at a discussion of Taiwan’s economic development. He will also look at how to strengthen national solidarity, Presidential Spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said at a news conference Saturday.

The president intends to say how the government is responding to rapid changes in the international environment and to the rising threat of authoritarianism, Kuo said. She portrayed the speeches as a continuation of Lai’s public statements since his inauguration in May 2024.

The plans for the new speeches are unrelated to the ongoing recall campaigns, she added. 

The Central Election Commission said Friday that recall votes targeting 24 KMT lawmakers and the suspended mayor of Hsinchu City will take place on July 26. Campaigns to recall other lawmakers are continuing to collect endorsements.