Political squabbling mars Aboriginal rights meeting

A press conference called to raise Aboriginal consciousness and promote a Nov. 3 march yesterday degenerated into political squabbling between supporters of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and supporters of Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

The press conference in Peitou was held by descendents of the Ketagalan tribe, who are pushing to be officially recognized as Aborigines and promoting the con-cept of "Pingpu" (平埔) identity.

"Because of the pressure of racial discrimination, many Pingpu parents have declined to talk to their children about their ethnic background. Therefore, many Tai-wanese do not know they are descendents of the Pingpu," said Chen Jin-wan (陳金萬), a descendent of the Ketagalan tribe and a Aboriginal culture activist.

"Pingpu" refers to Aborigines who lived on the western and eastern plains of Taiwan before Chinese Han immigrants arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries. The immigrants used "Pingpu Fan" (平埔番), or "savage on the plain," to describe the Aborigines.

Researchers have classified the Pingpu ethnic group into about 10 tribes. Ketagalan refers to the people who lived in northern Taiwan.

Unlike the Aborigines living in mountain areas, who lived by hunting, the Pingpu are described in historical documents as fishermen with few agricultural skills.

Over the centuries the Pingpu intermarried with Han Chinese and most of their language and customs were lost, except for the Kavalan in Ilan, who have maintained their identity.

"We appreciate that President Chen renamed the avenue in front of the Presidential Office Ketagalan," said Pan Hui-yao (潘慧耀), an elder of the Ketagalan's Peitou community. "But we also want to remind politicians not to make fools of Aborigines during the elections by making promises which are totally forgotten as soon as they are elected," Pan said.

"The Ketagalan Museum is to be inaugurated on Nov. 3 by Mayor Ma but I don't understand why Taipei's Ketagalan people have never been consulted about it," said Kineple, an official of the DPP's ethnic affairs department.

Kineple also asked why there was no Ketagalan representative in the management of the museum.

"Since you criticize Mayor Ma for not respecting the Ketagalan people, may I ask why no Ketagalan had been ever consulted by Chen on this issue either? What on earth has he done for the Ketagalan?" said Tsai Show-jung (蔡紹榮), the chief secretary of Taipei's Indigenous Peoples Commission.

Chen Jin-wan then grabbed Tsai's microphone in a bid to stop him from speaking.

"Please stop! Don't make this meeting an occasion for party struggle," shouted Chen Jin-wan.

The museum was initiated during Chen's term as Taipei mayor.