Ex-President Tsai Ing-wen to visit U.S., deliver speech at Stanford

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) Former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will visit the United States next week to deliver a keynote speech at Stanford University, her office confirmed Friday.

Tsai will attend Stanford DEFCON's 2026 Technology & National Security Conference on Oct. 7 and deliver the opening keynote, according to Tsai's office spokesperson Tsai Shu-ching (蔡舒景).

Tsai will share Taiwan's experience in critical technologies and semiconductor manufacturing, as well as its efforts to strengthen international partnerships, defense and national resilience, Tsai Shu-ching said in a statement.

The Stanford Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation announced the event on LinkedIn Thursday, saying it was "deeply honored" to welcome Tsai to deliver the opening keynote.

The center said Tsai, who served as president from 2016 to 2024 and was Taiwan's first female president, led the country through an increasingly complex security environment in the Indo-Pacific.

"Her administration also oversaw major economic, social, and institutional reforms," the center said, adding that Taiwan's experience lies at the intersection of technology, economic security, democratic resilience and strategic competition.

The visit will be Tsai's first trip to the U.S. since she left office in 2024.

Separately, Stanford's Hoover Institution has invited Tsai to speak on Oct. 8 about democracy, resilience and global security, according to an invitation sent to people affiliated with the university.

The event will be jointly hosted by the Hoover Institution's Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region (TIPR) program and Stanford in Government, the university's oldest and largest nonpartisan public service and policy organization.