Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim has arrived in Italy and travelled to the island of Ventotene to attend the second Ventotene Conference on Democracy and Freedom, a trip the Presidential Office has verified. European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno announced Hsiao's arrival on the island and stressed that Beijing had no right to interfere, Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) reported, citing Italy's ANSA news agency.
Fan Yun, secretary-general of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus in the Legislative Yuan, said at a caucus press conference on Friday morning that she was very glad about what she called Hsiao's diplomatic breakthrough. As the government has repeatedly insisted, Taiwan will not stop going out to make friends just because it has a hostile neighbour, Fan said. She said she was also glad that the democratic world had not let intimidation stop it from inviting international participants able to genuinely contribute to democratic dialogue. The DPP caucus of course felt very good about the breakthrough, and Taiwan has more it can contribute to the free world, she said.
Fan said this edition of the conference was being held at a place of great significance in Italy. Ventotene was once used to detain intellectuals who resisted fascism, she said, and holding the event there highlights the spirit of safeguarding freedom and democracy.
Besides Hsiao, the forum also invited Oleksandra Matviichuk, whom Fan described as the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and chair of Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties. Matviichuk, a Ukrainian civil lawyer who defends human rights, has visited Taiwan before, CNA reported. Fan said the joint invitation to Hsiao and Matviichuk showed that Taiwan's international standing in defending freedom and democracy is valued and affirmed.
