Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim Undertakes Rare European Trip for Italian Democracy Forum

Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim has embarked on a rare and sensitive visit to Europe to participate in a democracy forum in Italy, accompanied by the island’s foreign minister, according to the presidential office.

Hsiao received an invitation to the Ventotene Conference for Freedom and Democracy and is traveling alongside Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, the presidential office announced in a brief statement. Further details regarding the trip will be shared after the two officials return to Taiwan from the Italian island of Ventotene.

While Taiwan’s foreign ministers occasionally travel to parts of the world lacking formal diplomatic ties with the Chinese-claimed island, visits by officials holding a rank as high as vice president are exceptionally uncommon due to potential diplomatic pushback from Beijing against the host country.

Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament, noted that Hsiao’s attendance "was kept secret until her arrival to protect her participation" in the event.

"No one can determine who can be hosted on European soil, what voices can be heard, and what presences must be hidden," Picierno stated in a Facebook post, emphasizing that intimidation cannot dictate participation in democratic debates.

The Ventotene conference runs from Thursday through Saturday this week. Italy maintains no formal diplomatic ties with democratically governed Taiwan, mirroring the stance of most nations.

Additionally, Oleksandra Matviichuk, a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and president of Ukraine’s Centre for Civil Liberties, is anticipated to join the conference.

China continues to assert that Taiwan is one of its provinces, a claim that the island firmly rejects. Previously, in November, Hsiao addressed the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China’s annual summit hosted in the European Parliament in Brussels.