Taiwan’s Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim returned to Taipei on Saturday following a two-day visit to Europe, declaring that “Taiwan is no longer alone” in remarks to reporters at Taoyuan International Airport. Her visit, which included a keynote address at the European Parliament in Brussels, has drawn sharp condemnation from Beijing and further strained already tense cross-strait relations.
Hsiao arrived in Brussels on Friday to attend the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), held inside the European Parliament. Her speech marked the first time a sitting Taiwanese vice president had spoken at the European Parliament in a country that does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taipei. The move was widely viewed as a symbolic assertion of Taiwan’s growing international outreach and its effort to build closer ties with democratic partners in Europe.
China’s diplomatic mission to the European Union swiftly condemned the visit, accusing both Hsiao and the European Parliament of “enabling separatist activities” and interfering in what Beijing regards as its internal affairs. The mission’s statement reiterated that the Taiwan issue remains “a red line that must not be crossed,” warning European institutions against “backing and emboldening independence advocates.”
Hsiao’s visit comes amid a broader uptick in high-level exchanges between Taipei and Western governments. In 2023, current President Lai Ching-te — then serving as Taiwan’s vice president — made two controversial transit stops in the United States en route to Paraguay, meeting with senior American officials including former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Those visits, though officially informal, were met with fierce protests from Beijing, which denounced them as provocations and escalations of U.S.–Taiwan relations.
At a recent summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in South Korea, the issue of Taiwan was reportedly not discussed directly. However, analysts believe the omission reflects a deliberate attempt by both sides to avoid further escalation amid trade and security tensions. Despite this, Hsiao’s trip signals Taiwan’s continued push to assert its diplomatic presence and challenge Beijing’s efforts to isolate it on the global stage.