Taiwan Vice President Makes Rare European Visit for Democracy Conference

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1556 EAT on Friday 11 September 2026

Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim is making a rare visit to Europe to attend a democracy forum in Italy alongside the island’s foreign minister, the presidential office said.

Hsiao was invited to attend the Ventotene Conference for Freedom and Democracy and is travelling with Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, according to a brief statement from the presidential office.

The presidential office said further details would be provided after Hsiao and Lin return to Taiwan from the Italian island of Ventotene.

While Taiwan’s foreign ministers occasionally visit Europe and other parts of the world that do not have formal diplomatic ties with the Chinese-claimed island, visits by officials as senior as the vice president are rare, given the risk of backlash from Beijing against host countries.

Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament, said Hsiao’s participation in the conference had been kept secret until her arrival to protect her involvement.

“No one can determine who can be hosted on European soil, what voices can be heard, and what presences must be hidden,” Picierno said in a Facebook post. “It is a simple and very clear message: intimidation cannot decide who participates in our democratic debate.”

“Freedom of debate is not negotiable with autocracies. And Ventotene, more than ever today, must continue to be the place where freedom and democracy are defended without fear,” she added.

Oleksandra Matviichuk, a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and president of Ukraine’s Centre for Civil Liberties, is also expected to participate in the conference.

China considers Taiwan one of its provinces, a claim that the democratically governed island strongly rejects.

In November last year, Hsiao spoke at the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which was held at the European Parliament in Brussels.

-Aljazeera

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