TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s delegation to the inauguration of United States President Donald Trump will be unable to attend the event live as it has been moved indoors due to the cold weather, reports said Saturday.
Because temperatures are expected to plummet below 0 C, the Jan. 20 ceremony has been moved from the Capitol Plaza into the limited space of the Capitol Rotunda. As a result, the Taiwan delegation will be among thousands of spectators unable to be present at the swearing-in.
However, the group led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) will still travel to Washington, D.C. and follow its original itinerary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday. The ministry has been in talks with the US authorities to arrange the schedule for the eight lawmakers, per CNA.
The delegation will convey its congratulations to the US government and senior political leaders in Congress. There will also be discussions between the multiparty group with US think tanks and Taiwanese residents in the US.
The ministry emphasized that Han’s delegation would fulfill the tasks requested by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to congratulate the new president, convey Taiwan’s commitment to democracy, and work to improve Taiwan-US relations.
