Key facts
- Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim is visiting Italy.
- Hsiao is attending the Ventotene Conference for Freedom and Democracy.
- Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung is traveling with Hsiao.
- The conference runs from Thursday to Saturday.
- China claims Taiwan as its province.
Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim is making a rare visit to Europe, attending a forum on democracy in Italy along with Taipei's foreign minister, the presidential office said on Friday. While Taiwan's foreign ministers occasionally visit Europe and other parts of the world that lack formal ties with the Chinese-claimed island, it is rare for an official as senior as the vice president to do so, given the risk of a backlash from Beijing against the host nation. China asserts that Taiwan is one of its provinces, a view the democratically governed island strongly rejects. Hsiao has been invited to attend the Ventotene Conference for Freedom and Democracy, and is traveling with Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, the presidential office said in a brief statement. Other details will be provided once she returns to Taiwan, it added. Neither China nor Italy's foreign ministries immediately responded to requests for comment. The Ventotene conference takes place from Thursday until Saturday this week. Italy, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties to Chinese-claimed Taiwan. Last November, Hsiao spoke at the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China's annual summit, held in the European Parliament in Brussels.