The Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan announced on May 9, that Chairperson Ma Wenjun will lead a delegation of 20 blue and white congressmen to visit Taiping Island. Originally scheduled for the 16th, the trip has been postponed to the 18th in light of an important legislative session on the 17th at the Legislative Yuan. Ma Wenjun disclosed the itinerary on the 9th: after the legislative session on the 17th, the delegation will gather at 4:25 PM in front of the main building of the Legislative Yuan to head to the Pingtung base, flying to Taiping Island early in the morning of the 18th.
The Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee issued a notice on the 9th for the “Observation of the Defense Situation on Taiping Island”. According to the notice, on the 17th at 4:30 PM, the congressmen will depart from the Legislative Yuan to Songshan Airport. From there, the airplane will take off at 5:00 PM to the Pingtung base, where they will first receive a briefing at the aviation restaurant before staying overnight in Pingtung.
The itinerary for the visit to Taiping Island shows that on the early morning of the 18th at 6:00 AM, the congressmen will be transported from their accommodation to the Pingtung base to receive a briefing on the military weather. After breakfast around 7:00 AM, they will take a transport plane from the Pingtung base to Taiping Island, with a flight time of about 3.5 hours.
Upon arrival on Taiping Island, the 20 congressmen will gather for a group photo in front of the “Southern Frontier Lock Key” monument. They will then observe military drills, inspect the newly-built pier, pay respects at the Guanyin Temple, and finally return to the Pingtung base from Taiping Island at 1:00 PM. They are expected to return to the Pingtung base at 4:30 PM, and later from Pingtung to Songshan Airport around 5:30 PM, arriving at the Legislative Yuan.
Currently, 20 congressmen are registered for the trip, including members from the Kuomintang Party such as Ma Wenjun, Johnny Chiang, Hsu Chiao-Hsin, Huang Jen, Cheng Ching-Qu, Lai Shi-Bao, Wang Hong-Wei, Lo T’ing-Wei, Lin Si-Ming, Lo Chih-Chiang, Weng Hsiao-Ling, Yu Hao, Huang Chien-Hao, Liao Hsin-Hsiang, Lin Pei-Hsiang, Su Ching-Ch’u, and Chiu Chen-Chün. The People First Party will be represented by Lin Yi-Chun, Lin Kuo-Cheng, and Chen Chao-Tzu; however, no Democratic Progressive Party congressmen have registered for the observational tour.