Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen will take part in WAN-Ifra’s World News Media Congress later this month.

The announcement has been met with delight by WAN-Ifra president Fernando de Yarza. “We will meet in Taiwan at a critical moment in its history, with rising tensions across the region,” he said.

“Visible global support for independent journalism, freedom of expression matters as much as acknowledgement of its role in the democratic processes of an open society such as Taiwan’s.”

Tsai Ing-wen will address the opening of the congress on June 28.

The Taipei had been planned for 2021, but was postponed due to COVID-19.

WAN-Ifra chief executive Vincent Peyregne described the event as “a moment of reflection, learning, and a call to action to surmount threats and seize the momentum as we look forward, collectively, to a healthy future for news media.

“The presence of president Tsai Ing-wen is an eminent mark of recognition of the central role of a free and independent press in the country's democratic processes, and is in line with the tradition of the countries that have welcomed us every year for more than 70 years.”

President Tsai is the first female head of state of the Republic of China – Taiwan's official name – and also the first female head of state in Asia who was not born into a political family. She was first elected as president in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, when she garnered the highest vote total in Taiwan’s history.

More about World News Media Congress 2023. GXpress is a media partner.