KMT promises Aboriginal court Aborigines

Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman and presidential candidate Lien Chan, third right, People First Party Chairman and vice-presidential candidate James Soong, second right, and KMT campaign chief Wang Jin-pyng, third left, join hands as they announce their Aboriginal affairs policy at KMT headquarters yesterday. PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance unveiled their Aboriginal affairs policy yesterday, pledging to establish an Aboriginal court to handle disputes over ownership of ancestral land.

"[The alliance] will be proactive and responsible in implementing Aboriginal autonomy, solving Aboriginal unemployment and responding to [Aboriginal] appeals for the return of their land," said KMT Chairman and presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰) at a press conference held at the KMT's headquarters in Taipei.

"Only the Aborigines can proudly claim that they are the true Taiwanese people," added Lien.

Lien was joined at the policy launch by People First Party Chairman and vice presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) and alliance campaign chief and legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).

Thousands of hectares of Aboriginal land were appropriated by the Japanese administration between 1895 and 1945 to exploit forest, mineral and agricultural resources.

The KMT took over the land from the Japanese in 1945 and claimed it as government property, including much of the land currently occupied by the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp.

Disputes over the appropriated land have a long history. Aboriginal representatives argue that the land should be returned to them because it had been taken away from them without their consent or compensation.

Lien did not provide specific information on how the Aboriginal court would come into being.

But he stated that, if elected, he would also work to safeguard the judicial rights of Aborigines and train indigenous legal talent.

Lien and Soong offered Aboriginal voters another carrot with a promise to push for an Aboriginal Autonomy Law.

The Cabinet presented a draft law to establish Aboriginal autonomous regions in June but the bill has yet to be reviewed in the legislature.

Lien yesterday said he would push for amendments to the bill to ensure that problems relating to health, education, employment, community development and respect for Aboriginal people were adequately addressed.

Lien added that he would allocate NT$50 billion each year to improve transportation, telecommunications, housing, career development and the economic health of Aboriginal communities.

Various other matters were discussed in the white paper presented by Lien, including education, employment and career development for Aboriginal women and medical care for aged Aboriginal people.

The white paper also promised to subsidize health insurance for unemployed Aborigines for a period of one year.

Lien finally pledged to enhance public appreciation of the nation's Aboriginal cultures and vowed to "build Taiwan into a cultural hub for Aboriginal groups around the world."