Taiwan is pushing harder for a place on the world stage, a modest win for Taipei and an irritant for Beijing.

• Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim made a low-key trip to Italy to speak at a European freedom and democracy forum and has now returned home.
• President Lai Ching-te backed the trip, calling it Taiwanese people's inborn right to travel the world and make friends abroad.
• The forum was held on Ventotene, an island once used to jail opponents of fascism and a symbolic starting point for postwar European unity.
• Hsiao used the setting to talk about Taiwan's path to democracy and its refusal to bend under pressure from an authoritarian neighbor.
• The invitation came from a European Parliament vice president, a sign Taiwan is finding more open doors in Europe.

Outlook: Expect Taipei to keep arranging quiet high-level trips to Europe, and expect Beijing to protest each one.