Former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will deliver the opening keynote speech at the Stanford DEFCON's 2026 Technology & National Security Conference on October 7. The announcement came from Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.

The center noted that Tsai was Taiwan’s first female president. It added that during her eight years in office, Taiwan strengthened its global standing in critical technology and semiconductor manufacturing, deepened international partnerships, and invested in enhancing national defense and resilience. Tsai’s administration also enacted major economic, social, and institutional reforms while navigating one of the most consequential periods in Taiwan’s modern history. This experience lies at the intersection of several themes of this year’s conference, including technology, economic security, democratic resilience, and strategic cooperation.

This will be Tsai’s first visit to the United States since leaving office.