• Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim has arrived in Italy for a secret visit to attend the Second European Conference for Freedom and Democracy on the island of Ventotene.
• The visit was initially kept secret due to threats from China against Taiwanese politicians, as Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of China and views the ruling Democratic Progressive Party as separatist.
• The conference, organized by the European Parliament's liaison office in Italy, is also attended by well-known activists such as Yulia Navalnaya and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and aims to promote freedom and democracy.

Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim has arrived in Italy for a visit that was initially kept secret, according to the Presidential Office on Friday.

Hsiao will attend the Second European Conference for Freedom and Democracy on the small island of Ventotene and Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung is accompanying Hsiao, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement.

Well-known activists such as Kremlin critic Yulia Navalnaya and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya are also attending the three-day conference, which ends on Saturday. The meeting was initiated by European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno and organized by the parliament's liaison office in Italy.

Visit kept secret due to Chinese threats

Picierno only made Hsiao's visit public at the start of the conference on Thursday, saying that it had been kept secret beforehand because of threats from China against Taiwanese politicians.

Beijing considers democratically governed Taiwan to be part of China, viewing Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), to which Hsiao belongs, as separatist because it stands for Taiwan's independence, although the Taiwanese government has so far not sought a formal declaration of independence. China has threatened to bring Taiwan under its control, including by military force.

"No one can decide who is hosted in Ventotene and who is not," Picierno said. Above all, a "regime" such as the one in China must not be allowed to make such a decision, she said in a video on Facebook. Hsiao's visit was a "very important message," Picierno said.