"Pillar of shame" for Lai; Wang Yi at SCO; Gallagher sanctioned; XiAI; Guo Youcai; Ben Lim

Summary of today’s Essential Eight:

1. More reactions to Taiwan President Lai’s inaugural speech - Wang Yi at the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting said that the “treacherous acts of Lai Ching-te and his ilk, who betray the nation and their ancestors, are despicable” and that “all ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame [将被钉在历史的耻辱柱上]”. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, gave the most detailed critique of Lai’s speech, listing out all the problematic phrases from the PRC’s perspective, saying it was “filled with hostility and provocation, lies and deception, and a more radical and adventurous stance on ‘Taiwan independence.’ The speech widely promoted separatist fallacies such as the so-called ‘sovereign independence,’ ‘non-subordination between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait,’ and ‘self-determination of Taiwan residents,’ and desperately sought support from external forces, attempting to promote the ‘in…