Taiwan's former president Tsai Ing-wen has landed in San Francisco for her first US trip since leaving office, a quiet but closely watched signal of Taiwan-US ties.

• Hundreds of Taiwanese expats packed her hotel lobby, cheering and chanting support for Taiwan's democracy.
• She was met by Taiwan's top representative in Washington and the head of its San Francisco office.
• The main event is a tech and national security conference at Stanford, where she gives the opening speech — registration filled up immediately.
• She will also join a closed Stanford forum on Taiwan's place in the Indo-Pacific, hosted by the Hoover Institution.
• Since stepping down in 2024 she has toured Europe and Canada to shore up international backing for Taiwan; the US leg carries the most weight.

Outlook: Expect Beijing to object to the trip, and expect her Stanford remarks on technology and security to be read as a signal of where Taiwan wants US support.