Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim returned to Taiwan early on September 14 from an unannounced trip to Italy, where she spoke at the second European Conference of Ventotene for Freedom and Democracy. Hsiao, accompanied by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, said at Taoyuan airport that the trip was not announced beforehand to avoid unnecessary interference and that the journey there took about 27 hours by plane, car and ferry, PTS reported. She said she wanted the trip to send a firm message: "However difficult the situation, Taiwan will continue to bravely forge a path alongside the world."
What did the president say? 
Lai Ching-te, who assigned Hsiao to the trip, said in a Facebook post that going out into the world and making friends with the world is the Taiwanese people's inalienable right. Lai also thanked forum founder Pina Picierno, a European Parliament vice president, on X for inviting Hsiao, CNA reported. Picierno reposted his message, saying the European Parliament must always stand firmly on the side of freedom and democracy.
How did she travel? Hsiao flew home on a commercial airliner that did not enter Chinese territory, passing instead over Laos and Vietnam; after it turned into the South China Sea, its ADS-B was turned off, apparently for national-security reasons, PTS reported. Yen Chen-shen, a researcher at National Chengchi University's Institute of International Relations, said flying commercially avoids the overflight permissions a special aircraft must request from other countries, and that under international rules China would find it hard to interfere with a civilian airliner.
What happened at the venue? Hsieh Chih-wei, Taiwan's representative to the EU, who accompanied Hsiao, said on September 15 that a woman of Asian appearance claiming to be the cleaner for the next session lingered at the venue about three hours before Hsiao's speech, CNA reported. He said security staff spotted and questioned her, made clear that no cleaners had been assigned to the event and asked her to leave. Hsieh said someone from China was suspected of posing as cleaning staff to try to enter the venue and gather intelligence: "The world is watching Taiwan, and China sent people to watch too."
What other reactions were there? Even though Hsiao travelled low-key, China still expressed a strong protest, PTS reported. Premier Cho Jung-tai, whose remarks CNA reported on September 15, said it is Taiwan's right for its leaders to go out into the world and that "no obstacle can stop the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s determination to keep going out to the world."
Figures referenced: Lai Ching-te. — JudgeMarket.
