Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) late on Saturday departed for Europe on her first overseas trip since concluding her second term in office in May.
Following her departure for Prague before midnight, Tsai wrote on Facebook that she was heading to Europe to “convey Taiwanese people’s determination to safeguard democracy and freedom, and continue to deepen Taiwan-European relations.”
“While visiting Europe, I will attend the Forum 2000 Conference in the Czech Republic and give a speech to share Taiwan’s democratic experience. I want to combine the strength of like-minded international partners to jointly face the world’s severe challenges,” she said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Tsai is today to speak under the title “Overcoming Authoritarian Threat Through Democratic Unity” at the Forum 2000, which started yesterday in Prague and ends tomorrow, her office said.
The 28th annual Forum 2000 Conference is titled “Proving Democracy’s Resolve and Resilience.” Forum 2000 was founded in 1996 as a joint initiative of late Czech president Vaclav Havel, Japanese philanthropist Yohei Sasakawa and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel.
Tsai spoke remotely at the annual forum during her presidency in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Taiwan’s representative office in the EU and Belgium on Thursday confirmed that in addition to attending Forum 2000, Tsai would also go to Brussels where she would visit the European Parliament and meet members of the assembly.
Tsai’s office has not officially confirmed the visit to the European Parliament or if she has plans to visit the UK during her trip.
A Guardian report on Saturday quoted unnamed sources as saying that the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office asked Tsai to postpone a UK visit to avoid angering Beijing ahead of British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy’s trip to China this week.
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