Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attended a diplomatic outreach in Italy earlier this week, sharing the stage with current and former female leaders around the world, including former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday.
Tsai on Facebook posted about joining the Global Women Leaders Summit, sharing a photo of herself with female leaders at the event.
Neither Tsai nor the ministry had previously disclosed the trip.
Photo: Screen grab from Tsai’s Facebook page
Tsai was invited by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security to attend the Global Women Leaders Summit in Italy from Monday to Thursday, the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
During her stay, Tsai met with Italian lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties, think tank academics and Taiwanese students, it said.
Tsai said she exchanged views on artificial intelligence (AI), digital technology, climate change and the international order with female global leaders, emphasizing the need for cross-border and intergenerational cooperation to address global challenges.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The former president added that she cherished the opportunity to engage with international partners and bring Taiwan’s perspective to the global dialogue.
“Despite the complex international situation we face, we remain confident that the power of democracy, technology and civil society can jointly create a safer, more trustworthy digital future that better serves the public interest,” Tsai said.
The summit was chaired by Clinton and featured high-profile attendees, including former Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark.
The ministry said Tsai was accompanied by Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio and Italian Senator Lucio Malan, who chairs the Italy-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group, on a visit to the Italian Senate’s Palazzo Madama in Rome.
Since leaving office, Tsai has visited several European countries, including the Czech Republic, France, Belgium, Lithuania, Denmark, the UK and Germany.
She was scheduled to return to Taiwan yesterday, a source said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said Tsai has since stepping down leveraged her status a former head of state to work around diplomatic constraints.
Her efforts, alongside President William Lai’s (賴清德) official diplomacy, have complemented each other in a “division of labor” approach, helping to further deepen Taiwan’s ties with Europe, she said.
In the past, it was extremely difficult for state-level Taiwanese figures to visit major western European countries, but since Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) spoke at the European Parliament last year and thanks to Tsai’s visits post-presidency, European countries appear to be increasingly treating Taiwan as a de facto democratic partner in countering authoritarian expansion, Wu said, adding that it indicated “growing international recognition of Taiwan’s status.”
Tsai was given a prominent seat alongside Clinton at the summit, and she met with high-profile female leaders from different countries and lawmakers from both sides of the Italian government, she said.
These engagements helped bring Taiwan’s democratic resilience and perspectives on global issues such as technology governance and AI into closer contact with international decisionmaking circles, further positioning Taiwan as a sought-after partner for European cooperation, Wu said.
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