Taiwan's sovereignty 'inviolable': DPP official

San Francisco, Sept. 7 (CNA) The secretary-general of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said at an event in San Francisco on Saturday that "Taiwan's sovereignty is inviolable."

"Taiwanese have the defining power to decide their own future," said Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) at the meeting of the Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California (TAFNC).

These themes of -- Taiwanese sovereignty and Taiwanese self-determination -- have been repeatedly raised in President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) talks since his May inauguration, Lin told the press before giving an opening speech at the dinner lecture.

At the event, Lin said that Taiwan's international role has become more important as a result of major global events including the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War.

He also said that the DPP needs to stay "young" and "vibrant" to respond to increasingly "challenging" global conditions.

Earlier that day at a lunch meeting with another overseas Taiwanese group, Lin also said that "supporting Taiwan" was a bipartisan stance in the United States that represents the two countries' shared values of democracy and freedom.

Lin, who was Taiwan's minister of the interior between January 2023 and May 2024, is currently on a 13-day visit to the U.S.

Since arriving in the states on Aug. 31, the DPP secretary-general has visited New York, Washington, D.C., and Houston.

Lin said he will not disclose which U.S. officials he has met or will meet during his visit, reflecting sensitivities surrounding the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November, currently tense U.S.-China relations and Beijing's continued hostility toward Taiwanese sovereignty and the DPP.

The TAFNC was founded in 1973 to "promote Taiwanese and American cultural exchange," according to the association's website.