Taiwan vice president makes rare Europe visit for conference on democracy

European Parliament’s Vice President Pina Picierno says Hsiao Bi-khim’s visit ‘was kept secret until her arrival to protect her participation’ in the conference.

Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim delivers a speech during a media briefing with foreign correspondents in Taipei on July 18, 2025 [I-Hwa Cheng/AFP]

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

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

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Other details will be provided once the two return to Taiwan from the Italian island of Ventotene, it added,

While Taiwan’s foreign ministers occasionally visit Europe and other parts of the world that have no formal ties to the Chinese-claimed island, it is rare for an official as senior as the vice president to do so, given the risk of backlash from Beijing against the host nation.

Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament, said Hsiao’s planned participation “was kept secret until her arrival to protect her participation” in the conference.

“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.

The Ventotene conference takes place from Thursday until Saturday this week. Italy, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan.

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 says Taiwan is one of its provinces, a view the democratically governed island strongly rejects.

Last November, Hsiao spoke at the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China’s annual summit, held in the European Parliament in Brussels.

欧洲议会副议长皮娜·皮切尔诺表示，萧美琴的访问“在她抵达之前一直保密，以保护她参加会议”。

2025年7月18日，台湾副总统萧美琴在台北与外国记者举行记者会并发表讲话。[I-Hwa Cheng/AFP]

台湾总统府表示，台湾副总统萧美琴将罕见地访问欧洲，与台湾外交部长一同出席在意大利举行的民主论坛。

总统府在一份简短声明中表示，萧敬腾已受邀出席文托泰内自由民主大会，并将与台湾外交部长林家龙一同前往。

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声明还补充说，待两人从意大利文托泰内岛返回台湾后，将公布其他细节。

虽然台湾的外交部长偶尔会访问欧洲和其他与中国声称拥有主权的台湾没有正式外交关系的地区，但像副总统这样级别的官员很少会这样做，因为这可能会引起北京对东道国的报复。

欧洲议会副议长皮娜·皮切尔诺表示，萧的参会计划“在她抵达之前一直保密，以保护她能够参加”此次会议。

皮切尔诺在脸书上发帖称：“任何人都无权决定谁能踏上欧洲的土地，哪些声音能被听到，哪些存在必须被隐藏。这是一个简单而明确的信息：恐吓不能决定谁能参与我们的民主辩论。”

她补充说：“辩论自由不容许与专制政权谈判。而文托泰内，比以往任何时候都更需要继续成为捍卫自由和民主而不必恐惧的地方。”

文托泰内会议将于本周四至周六举行。意大利与大多数国家一样，与中国声称拥有主权的台湾没有正式外交关系。

2022 年诺贝尔和平奖获得者、乌克兰公民自由中心主席奥列克桑德拉·马特维丘克预计也将参加此次会议。

中国称台湾是其一个省份，但这个实行民主治理的岛屿强烈反对这种说法。

去年11月，萧正昌在布鲁塞尔欧洲议会举行的中国议会联盟年度峰会上发表了讲话。