Ex-President Tsai arrives in San Francisco to warm welcome

San Francisco, Oct. 5 (CNA) Former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) arrived in San Francisco on Monday local time, to kick off a week-long trip to the U.S. city, receiving a warm welcome from hundreds of overseas Taiwanese.

Accompanied by Taiwan's representative to the United States Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) and head of Taiwan's San Francisco office Wu Chih-hsiang (伍志翔), Tsai arrived at the hotel where she will stay, waving, smiling and giving high-fives to Taiwanese compatriots who chanted "Taiwan's democracy involves you and me (台灣民主有你有我)" to welcome her to the San Francisco Bay Area.

It is Tsai's first visit to the United States since she left office in May 2024 after serving two four-year terms as president.

Tsai will attend Stanford DEFCON's 2026 Technology & National Security Conference on Wednesday where she will deliver the opening keynote speech.

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

The keynote address is one of the few events on Tsai's itinerary that her office has said will be open to the public.

According to Stanford DEFCON, the organizer of the 2026 conference, all registration slots have been filled.

On Thursday, Tsai will attend a forum on democracy, resilience and global security jointly organized 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. The forum will be open only to Stanford faculty and students.

In a Facebook post featuring photos of people who welcomed her, Tsai expressed her gratitude for their warm welcome and support for Taiwan.

"In the coming days, I will continue to seize every opportunity to interact with more friends and help Taiwan make more friends," Tsai said. "Let's continue to work hard together."

Chuang Wen-kuan (莊文冠), one of the overseas Taiwanese who greeted Tsai at the hotel, told CNA that he hoped her visit would help the world gain a better understanding of Taiwan.

In 2015, Tsai visited Stanford University while serving as chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the party's presidential candidate. During the visit, she attended a Taiwan-U.S. innovation and technology cooperation forum and delivered a speech.

During her presidency and on subsequent overseas trips, Tsai arranged face-to-face exchanges with overseas students and young people. Many students and technology experts in the Bay Area said they hoped to have an opportunity to meet her.

Tsai is scheduled to return to Taiwan on Oct. 11, Taipei time.