Contingency plans being made for Taiwan delegation to Trump inauguration: Representative office

Washington, Jan. 19 (CNA) Taiwan's representative office in the United States said Sunday that contingency plans are being developed for the Taiwanese delegation to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, since the ceremony has been downsized and moved indoors due to severe winter weather.

Taiwan's eight-member cross-party delegation, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), arrived in New York Saturday night and visited the Taiwan representative office in the city Sunday morning.

In the afternoon, Han and his delegation traveled by train to Washington, D.C., where they were greeted by Taiwan's representative to the U.S. Alexander Yui (俞大㵢).

Yui later held a closed door meeting with the delegation at their hotel and briefed them on some contingency plans for their visit, as they can no longer attend the inauguration ceremony, his office told CNA reporters in Washington.

Due to sub-zero temperatures forecast for Washington on Monday, Trump's inauguration ceremony will now be held inside the Capitol Rotunda instead of on the steps of the Capitol. This means that the number of guests at the ceremony has been significantly reduced.

Even if attendees wanted to gather in the outdoor ticketed areas at the Capitol, they would not be able to do so, as those areas will be closed due to the extremely cold weather, U.S. officials have said.

The Taiwan representative office in the U.S. said Sunday that Yui has briefed the Taiwan delegation on how and where they could watch Trump's inauguration ceremony on Monday, as they cannot attend in person.

Neither the office nor delegation, however, disclosed the details of the contingency plans for the members' current four-day visit to Washington.

In a statement Saturday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said that the indoor inauguration venue will accommodate only a limited number of attendees, mainly members of Congress, senior government officials and Trump's family.

Therefore, many international guests, including the Taiwan delegation, will not be able to attend the inauguration ceremony, MOFA said.

The ministry said the rest of the delegation's itinerary will remain unchanged, however, including meetings with members of Congress, other politicians, and think tank scholars, as well as a visit to the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan.

On Sunday night, Taiwanese expatriates in Washington hosted a banquet for the delegation, which comprises Speaker Han of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT); lawmakers Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) and Kuo Yu-ching (郭昱晴) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party; Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) and Ko Ju-chun (葛如鈞) of the KMT; and Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) of the smaller opposition Taiwan People's Party.

Speaking at the banquet, Han said his delegation fully appreciates the various arrangements being made by the American side for them to view Trump's inauguration ceremony.

"Regardless of the arrangements, we are here to offer our warm congratulations to the new American government," Han said.