TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) arrived Friday at Italy’s Ventotene Island for an unannounced appearance at a democracy forum, with a European Parliament official saying China has no say in her participation.
European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno said Hsiao’s visit had been kept secret until her arrival to protect her participation, per Reuters. Hsiao was accompanied by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍).
Picierno announced Hsiao’s arrival at the conference, saying, “I am happy to announce that Hsiao Bi-khim, vice president of Taiwan, has just arrived on the island of Ventotene,” per ANSA. She added, “No one, not even China, can decide who can or cannot speak here.”
In a Facebook post, Picierno said, “In Ventotene, no one decides who can be there. Much less a regime.” She said no government should be able to determine which political figures can appear on European soil or which voices can be heard.
She also said the visit sent “a simple and very clear message: intimidation cannot decide who participates in our democratic debate.” She added that “freedom of debate is not negotiable with autocracies.”
The Ventotene Conference for Freedom and Democracy was launched in 2025 by Picierno and brings together dissidents, advocates, and European leaders to discuss resistance to authoritarianism and the defense of democracy, per CTS. The conference is held on Ventotene, a small 1.54-square-kilometer island off Italy’s western coast.
Now a tourist destination, it once served as an internment site for opponents of fascism and is regarded as a symbol of Italian democracy. In addition to Hsiao, Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties Chair Oleksandra Matviichuk participated in this year’s conference via video link.
