New Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te urged China to stop its intimidation of the democratic island, comments aimed at calming a dispute at the heart of a geopolitical rivalry involving the world’s two biggest powers. “I call on China to stop intimidating Taiwan verbally and militarily, and, together with Taiwan, to shoulder our responsibility to the world to do our utmost to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region,” Lai said Monday in his inaugural address on an overcast day in Taipei.