Taiwan's representative office in the US yesterday said that contingency plans are being developed for the Taiwanese delegation to US 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 on Saturday night and visited the Taiwan representative office in the city yesterday morning.
Photo: CNA
In the afternoon, Han and his delegation traveled by train to Washington, where they were greeted by Representative to the US 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 reporters in Washington.
Due to sub-zero temperatures forecast for Washington today, Trump's inauguration ceremony is now to 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 would be closed due to the extremely cold weather, US officials have said.
The Taiwan representative office in the US said that Yui has briefed the Taiwan delegation on how and where they could watch Trump's inauguration ceremony, as they cannot attend in person.
Neither the office nor delegation disclosed the details of the contingency plans for the members' current four-day visit to Washington.
In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the indoor inauguration venue would accommodate only a limited number of attendees, mainly members of the US Congress, senior government officials and Trump's family.
Therefore, many international guests, including the Taiwan delegation, would not be able to attend, the ministry said.
The rest of the delegation's itinerary would remain unchanged, however, including meetings with members of Congress, other politicians and think tank experts, as well as a visit to the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan, it added.
Yesterday night, Taiwanese expatriates in Washington hosted a banquet for the delegation, which comprises Han of the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT); lawmakers Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) and Kuo Yu-ching (郭昱晴) of the 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 Taiwan People's Party.
Speaking at the banquet, Han said his delegation fully appreciates the various arrangements being made by the US 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.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS