Taiwan's former president Tsai Ing-wen made a surprise appearance at Taiwan's National Day reception in the San Francisco Bay Area, a show of continued outreach that plays well for Taiwan's standing in the US.

• Tsai is the first former Taiwanese president to join the San Francisco office's National Day reception.
• She thanked overseas Taiwanese for building friendships for Taiwan, saying the island has stepped into the world bit by bit.
• Taiwan's representative tied the event to history: 30 years after missiles flew across the Taiwan Strait around Taiwan's first direct presidential election, its democracy is stronger.
• Silicon Valley was framed as the clearest proof of the partnership, with Taiwan central to advanced chips, AI servers, and global tech supply chains.
• A California state senator said the state could not be the world's fourth-largest economy without its Taiwan ties.

Outlook: Taiwan will keep leaning on tech ties and overseas communities to deepen US support while strengthening its defense and resilience.