Representatives of Taiwanese Aborigines held a press conference yesterday to report on their participation at the 18th session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, an international forum sponsored by the UN.
The team said China once again stood in Taiwan's way when it sought to obstruct their participation at the session, held from July 24 to 28 in Geneva.
After lengthy negotiations, the representative team of 11 Taiwanese Aborigines finally attended the meeting in the capacity of an organization affiliated to the Asian Indigenous People's Pact (AIPP) rather than with the names Taiwan or Formosa in their official title.
An anthropologist from National Dong Hwa University, Namoh Rata (吳明義), said the team did not attend any internal AIPP meeting but merely used the latter's name in order to participate, which, he said, was like "sneaking into the meeting."
"We should develop more affiliations with regional organizations before joining the UN," he said, "showing what we can do for regional partners and seeking thereby to solicit their support in the future."
"It's a matter of reciprocity," he added.
Discussing wider aspects of the team's involvement with UN agencies, team spokesman Kao The-i (高德義) who is also a professor of ethnic studies at National Dong Hwa University, said, "Politics are everywhere. The UN's system is very politicized and stratified."
"Even among Aboriginal groups from around the world, English-speaking Aborigines are more privileged and powerful in UN meetings," Kao said, adding, "we have to improve the English ability of Taiwan's Aborigines and foster talent in international affairs."
The team's head, Yasala Hola (陳克安), a pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, used working group chairman Kenneth Deer's remarks to highlight political obstacles. "Deer said the working group does not yet belong to the Aborigines of the world. It belongs to the UN."
The press conference was held at the Presbyterian Church headquarters yesterday. This trip was fully sponsored by the Executive Yuan's Council of Aboriginal Affairs (CAA) and organized by the Presbyterian Church.
The principle theme of this year's working group meeting was indigenous children and youth. Many issues, like the environment and nature, hunting cultures and intellectual property were also discussed during the meeting.
Taiwan Aborigines from the Presbyterian Church have attended the meetings since 1988. The CAA's chairman, Yohani Isqaqavut (
"The working group is an NGO meeting and is very important to Aborigines all over the world. Taiwan Aborigines have to join." Yohani said.
"But I would never allow CAA officials to participate and thereby give China an excuse to make trouble for Taiwan," he said before the representative team departed to attend the meeting.
Even without any official representative from Taiwan, China was still able to throw obstacles in the way of the team's participation in the assembly this year. The situation has occurred annually since 1997.
"Before 1997, China didn't pay attention to the working group meeting," said Mayaw Kumud (馬耀谷木), a former Aboriginal activist, currently working as a councilor at the CCA.
He was a member of a team which attended the conference in 1997, made up of both unofficial representatives and then CAA deputy chairman Sun Ta-chuan (
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS