Despite change in venue, Taiwan present at Trump's inauguration

Washington, Jan. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's delegation of lawmakers to U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration did not attend the swearing-in ceremony in the Capital Rotunda due to space limitations, but it was still present at nearby locations to be part of the event.

Taiwan's Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Taiwanese representative to the U.S. Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) joined other guests at the Capitol Visitor Center, called Emancipation Hall, watching the inauguration on a large screen.

The other seven lawmakers in the delegation watched a livestream of the ceremony from a VIP area of the Capital One Arena, just over a mile away from the Capitol Building.

Those arrangements were made after the outdoor event was canceled due to the cold weather and moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda, leaving only a few hundred seats for U.S. big tech and businesses moguls, senior American politicians, and other world leaders.

The final arrangements differed from what one of the lawmakers in Washington, ruling Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), told CNA would happen on Monday morning U.S. time.

He said Han would join the other lawmakers at the arena, with four sitting in a VIP area and four others in the arena.

Following the event, however, he defended his earlier statement by telling CNA a different story, that the "itinerary had to be kept totally confidential due to concerns about pressure from China."

Speaking to reporters after the event, Han acknowledged that Trump emphasized "America First" in his inaugural speech.

But the legislative speaker called for more collaboration in the future between the U.S. and Taiwan, which has a global advantage in semiconductors and high-tech industries, as it would be mutually beneficial.

Yui, meanwhile, said the Taiwanese delegation's participation at Trump's inauguration went well and demonstrated that "Taiwan was not absent."

According to Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), the delegation had an invitation from the inauguration's organizers prior to the venue change, marking the second time Taiwan has been invited to the U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony, the first time coming in 2021.

Taiwan will continue to build on the existing foundation to promote exchanges and collaborations with the Trump administration across various fields, the representative office said.

TECRO, which represents Taipei's interest in Washington in the absence of formal diplomatic ties between the two sides, also thanked the U.S. for its arrangements for the Taiwanese delegation.