Ex-Premier Su to address U.S. event as Tsai's representative

Taipei, Nov. 3 (CNA) Former Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has been named President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) representative to an event scheduled to be held in Washington, U.S. by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said Friday.

Su will attend the event marking the 40th anniversary of the NED -- a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting democratic institutions around the world -- on Nov. 14 on behalf of Tsai and deliver remarks, Lin said in a press release.

NED President Damon Wilson visited Taiwan in July and conferred the organization's "democracy service medal" on Tsai, Lin said, noting, without elaborating, that the president's achievements in promoting democracy and human rights would also be recognized during the upcoming NED event.

Su, who currently does not hold any official post, will depart for New York on Nov. 12 and arrive in Washington in the evening of Nov. 13 (local time) for the event, Lin said.

According to Lin, Su was chosen because of his track record promoting human rights in Taiwan, including working as a human rights lawyer in the martial law era and endorsing the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2019 in his capacity as premier.

Su, 76, served as head of the Executive Yuan from 2006-2007 and again from 2019-2023.

He started working as a lawyer in 1971 and was known for being part of a team of lawyers defending the core members of the pro-democracy protest on Dec. 10, 1979, later known as the Kaohsiung Incident, on trial for sedition.