Aboriginal campaigners from Orchid Island (
The group of 20 Tao campaigners -- referred to as Yami by both the KMT and scholars in the past -- included elders from the tribe dressed in traditional outfits. They pledged to form an alliance with eight other ethnic groups in order to press the new government to give priority to Aboriginal autonomy.
"The new government should propose a timetable for autonomy on the basis of partnership and give Orchid Island its autonomy by 2004," said Tao representative Syaman Rapongan (
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Last September, Chen signed a bilateral agreement, or "new partnership" document, with 11 representatives from Aboriginal ethnic groups.
In the agreement, Chen recognized many privileges and rights that the Aborigines would like to implement, such as local autonomy and native ownership of land.
The 45-square-kilometer Orchid Island is located to the southeast of Taiwan and has a population of about 3,000 indigenous Tao residents. Due to its isolation and unique culture, Orchid Island has been widely considered an ideal place to implement Aboriginal autonomy.
Campaigners petitioned the Executive Yuan yesterday and requested to meet Vice Premier Yu Shyi-kun. However, Yu was chairing a meeting and was unable to receive the petitioners.
The campaigners then compared the new government to that of the KMT. "We want to severely censure the new government. They are behaving just like the old government," said Taitung County Councilor Shyman Faagien (郭建平).
"We are facing cultural loss and ethnic extinction. Autonomy is the only way for us to survive," he said, emphasizing that autonomy was also in keeping with the cultural diversity in Taiwan.
A group of Aboriginal lawmakers headed by Walis Pelin (
"We hope it will function as an Aboriginal constitution, allowing the formation of an Aboriginal congress," he said.
The Tao want to be able to have their own education system, land ownership, administrative independence and have more control over the development of Orchid Island.
In addition to autonomy, the removal of nuclear waste stored on the island was another main concern of campaigners.
"The nuclear waste has been our nightmare for decades and has caused many strange diseases and mental problems for our people," a Tao senior said, speaking in his mother tongue.
According to campaigners, the leakage of nuclear waste from over 30,000 rusty barrels that are stored on the island is thought to be the main cause of both a high cancer death rate and the birth of over 50 physically handicapped children.
They charged that Taipower and the Atomic Energy Council had lied to them in order to establish a nuclear waste storage site there in 1980.
"They cheated us by saying they were going to build a can factory," said campaigners.
Since 1987, the Tao people have demonstrated against the stored nuclear waste.
In 1988 they blockaded the harbor and successfully stopped a nuclear waste shipment from being unloaded. This was their most successful anti-nuclear activity to date and surprised anti-nuclear activists all over the world.
The success, however, was short-lived. The next shipment of nuclear waste arrived as scheduled. Currently, there are around 96,000 barrels of nuclear waste stored on the island.
Earlier this year Taipower signed an extension contract with the township government of Orchid Island which will allow the waste to be stored on the island until 2002, with Taipower agreeing to pay compensation of NT$2.80 million to residents.
"But most locals were not told of the contract extension," said campaigner Syaman Inagnik (周貴光). He said the Ministry of Economic Affairs had not approved the contract nor the compensation yet. "It needs further discussion by the new government," he said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS