The Executive Yuan’s Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) on Thursday announced that it has walked out of the Hangzhou Cultural and Creative Industry Expo in China this year, accusing Chinese authorities of trying to force it to reword “indigenous peoples” as “ethnic minorities,” while its title was banned from event material.
The Mainland Affairs Council on Thursday night issued a statement supporting the CIP’s decision, while calling on Beijing to adopt a mutually respectful attitude and to leave politics out of “interactive” events.
Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod said his council had been notified that all documents and other printed material at the expo should have “ethnic minorities” in place of “indigenous peoples,” adding that Chinese officials said that “ethnic minorities” was its official appellation, as Article 4 of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) constitution says: “The nation guarantees the legal rights and benefits of each ethnic minority.”
Photo courtesy of the Council of Indigenous Peoples
Icyang said that adherence to the PRC constitution ignored a 1994 Republic of China (ROC) constitutional amendment that officially recognized Aborigines.
Up until the CIP delegation departed for Hangzhou, it said that the group would be attending the expo without changing its name, Icyang said, adding that the CIP had not expected the hosts to make such demands.
The hosts removed a plaque over an area bearing the CIP’s name, Icyang said, adding that the habitual politicization of what should be simple cultural interactive events was not conducive to harmonious cross-strait relations.
Photo courtesy of the Council of Indigenous Peoples
China was adhering to Han chauvinism by referring to other ethnicities as “minorities,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kolas Yotaka said.
The government and the private sector are willing to work with China on certain issues, but the oppression of Taiwan by Beijing has shown that it is China that is the source of hostility, Kolas said.
Despite the CIP’s expo exit, it said that 10 civilian cultural and creative groups at the event were free to make their own decision about attending, as the government encourages civilian cross-strait interaction.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a