KMT Vice Chair Hsia to embark on European tour

Taipei, May 10 (CNA) Andrew Hsia (夏立言), vice chairman of Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), will depart for Europe on Sunday evening, with scheduled stops in Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Belgium, the party said Saturday.

In a KMT statement, Hsia was quoted as saying that the visit aims to demonstrate the KMT's commitment to defending freedom and democracy and contributing to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

Hsia also said he would take the opportunity to exchange views with politicians and scholars in the U.K., Belgium, and Denmark to help the international community gain a better understanding of Taiwan opposition's perspective.

According to the KMT, Hsia will attend the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in the Danish capital from May 13-14 and the IDU Forum in Brussels, Belgium from May 14-15.

In addition to visiting Denmark and Belgium, the vice chairman will also travel to the U.K., where he is scheduled to participate in a talk hosted by King's College, Cambridge, the KMT said.

Hsia will be accompanied by Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉), a special advisor to the KMT chairman and head of the party's mainland affairs department, as well as Chen Yi-hsin (陳怡馨) and Huang Tzu-chuan (黃子銓) of the party's international affairs department, according to the statement.

As of press time, however, the KMT had not disclosed any further details of Hsia's trip, including the duration of his stay in Europe.