Taiwan’s Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim is visiting Europe to participate in the Ventotene Conference for Freedom and Democracy on the Italian island of Ventotene, accompanied by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung. The presidential office confirmed the attendance but indicated additional details would be released upon their return to Taiwan.
The visit represents an uncommon occurrence, as senior Taiwanese officials rarely travel to countries without formal diplomatic recognition of the island due to potential diplomatic repercussions from Beijing. Taiwan maintains no official ties with Italy and most other nations globally, though some countries do allow visits from its representatives. In this case, the trip was initially withheld from public knowledge to protect the vice president’s participation at the forum.
Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament, emphasized the importance of the visit, stating that European nations have the autonomy to determine which voices and participants are included in democratic discussions. She rejected the notion that intimidation should influence who participates in European democratic discourse, characterizing freedom of debate as non-negotiable with authoritarian systems.
The Ventotene conference, which runs from Thursday through Saturday this week, also features participation from Oleksandra Matviichuk, a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and president of Ukraine’s Centre for Civil Liberties. The event focuses on defending freedom and democracy without constraints. Beijing considers Taiwan one of its provinces, a position the self-governing island disputes. Hsiao previously spoke at another European parliamentary forum on China last November, held in Brussels.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI