VP praises Taiwan’s visibility, nations’ attention

PLEDGE: Europe and Taiwan would remain steadfast in upholding a free and democratic way of life and maintaining regional peace and prosperity, Hsiao said

Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) yesterday said that she saw a growing number of international friends willing to learn about Taiwan and hear its story during her visit to the Italian island of Ventotene last week.

“Throughout this journey, I have once again felt the international community’s concern for Taiwan, and encountered a growing number of good friends willing to learn about Taiwan and hear its story,” Hsiao said at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport upon returning from Italy.

The most significant part of the trip was “having Taiwan’s voice heard by so many more people in a place of such historical significance,” Hsiao said, referring to the Second Ventotene European Conference for Freedom and Democracy, which she attended last week.

Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, seated, third left, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung, seated, fourth left, attend a dinner hosted by European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno on the Italian island of Ventotene on Friday.

Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Hsiao said that Ventotene has an extraordinary history.

During World War II, the island was used to detain political dissidents, including Altiero Spinelli, who coauthored a text there that later became known as the Ventotene Manifesto, advocating a federal Europe after the war.

Hsiao cited remarks from her Friday address at the Italian conference, saying: “Whether it is Ventotene or Taiwan, no island is too small to have a voice, and no island or society is too small to deserve respect.”

Although Europe today is vastly different from the Europe of World War II, democracies around the world continue to face similar challenges, she said.

“Authoritarianism, ‘gray zone’ threats, and challenges involving coercion and attempts to alter the ‘status quo’ continue to arise in various forms and locations — challenges with which Taiwan is all too familiar,” she said.

Hsiao said that is why she told at the conference that Taiwan, like its European friends, would remain steadfast in upholding a free and democratic way of life, and committed to maintaining regional peace and prosperity.

The trip was not announced in advance to avoid “unnecessary interference,” she said, referring to China’s objections.

Hsiao was invited by European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno, the main initiator of the conference, and Carlo Corazza, head of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Italy, to speak at the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a news release yesterday.

Aside from meeting Picierno and Corazza, Hsiao and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) also met with Sandro Gozi, chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly; European Parliament member Valerie Hayer; and Ventotene Mayor Carmine Caputo while on the Italian island.

Before returning to Taiwan, Hsiao and Lin toured the renowned Roman cisterns and the Museo Storico Archeologico, which houses archeological discoveries from the island, the ministry said.