TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan and Europe have stood together from start to finish in combating COVID-19 facing down authoritarian regimes, former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at the end of her first overseas tour since leaving office.

Her eight-day trip included a speech at the Forum 2000 conference in the Czech Republic, a visit to the French Senate in Paris, and the first-ever visit by a former president to the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. Tsai met more than 80 members of the parliament, she wrote on her Facebook page.

Taiwan has proven to be a society rooted in freedom, democracy, and respect that can still develop successfully in the face of threats from authoritarianism, according to Tsai. In Brussels, she held talks with politicians, business people and academics and had dinner with women members of the European Parliament, including former Lithuanian Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene, per CNA.

At the conclusion of her official European trip, Tsai found time for a trip to the city of Leuven, the site of a prominent university east of Brussels. She reportedly went there before as a trade negotiator before she started her political career.

In Leuven, she visited a Taiwanese family running a restaurant with Taiwanese delicacies, including bubble tea, and had a coffee at a popular bookstore. The former president is scheduled to arrive back in Taiwan on Sunday (Oct. 20). There have also been media reports that she will soon visit the United States.