Taiwan’s president-elect should drop his party’s independence plank

News Snapshot:

Open this photo in gallery: Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te gestures as he attends a rally following the victory in the presidential elections, in Taipei, Taiwan on Jan. 13.ANN WANG/Reuters Frank Ching is a Hong Kong-based freelance journalist. For months, Lai Ching-te, who became Taiwan’s president-elect on Jan. 13, has been pledging to follow the policy of President Tsai Ing-wen in maintaining the cross-strait status quo. “Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country called the Republic of China,” Mr. Lai said, so there is no need to declare independence. He has been saying this with the fervour of a recent convert,...