The Truku (太魯閣) people of Hualien County were recognized as the nation's 12th indigenous tribe at a ceremony yesterday following a controversial, decade-long effort by activists.
Representatives of Nantou County's Sedeq people, also categorized by academics as a distinct part of the overarching Atayal (
"How can a tribe with the same culture, language and way of life be split in two? It makes no sense," said Wadann Sumigh (洼旦.蘇密), a member of the Sedeq.
PHOTO: CNA
"The government should have conducted more genealogical, demographic, cultural and linguistic research before rushing to this decision," he said.
Wadann Sumigh alleged that the Cabinet's decision was made out of political considerations.
"It's a bid to woo the 13,000 Truku that live in Hualien County. They don't really care what the 7,000 Sedeq in Nantou County think," he said.
"It's the saddest day in the history of the tribe," he said.
Wadann made the remarks during the ceremony held at the Executive Yuan yesterday morning. About 150 Truku and 60 Sedeq were in attendance.
Describing government recognition of the Truku as a milestone, Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday took the opportunity to lambaste a campaign promise to establish an Aboriginal autonomy zone proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰).
"It's outdated and incorrect to create a single Aboriginal autonomy zone for each of the nation's 12 indigenous tribes," Yu said.
"The `ethnic assimilation' [stated in the policy] is better described as `ethnic cleansing' if the process is to be sudden and compulsory," he said.
While the KMT trumpeted the principle of ethnic assimilation, Yu said, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) embraced ethnic equality, harmony and pluralism.
Yu said that the DPP's Aboriginal policy was being applied from the grass roots up, rather than the other way around.
He said the DPP welcomed indigenous ambitions to establish autonomy zones, and that a bill currently before the legislature on the establishment of Aboriginal autonomous zones (原住民族自治區法) would facilitate this.
"We don't mind seeing one tribe establish three autonomous regions or three different tribes settle in one autonomous zone, as long as the decision is based on the free will of tribal people," Yu said.
"In some countries it might take decades and even considerable bloodshed to reach this point. Here in Taiwan, Aborigines don't have to go through this ordeal because of the initiative President Chen [Shui-bian (陳水扁)] took to sign an agreement with indigenous people."
Chen signed an accord with Aboriginal activists while campaigning for the presidency in 1999. In the agreement, he pledged to establish an autonomous region for Aborigines as well as formalize other rights, such as use of natural resources and land ownership.
Truku representative Lee Chih-shoon (
"It's a sacred moment, and it is for us the highest honor ... today we are proud to call ourselves Truku," Tera said.
"We'll continue to negotiate with our brothers, the Sedeq in Nantou, and work toward holding a peace ceremony with them in the near future," he said.
Truku activists started campaigning for official recognition in 1996. In June last year, Truku tribal leaders submitted a petition with 972 signatures to the Cabinet-level Council of Indigenous Peoples asking for recognition.
In July last year Truku activists petitioned Chen when he traveled to Hualien County. The DPP's Central Standing Committee, of which Chen is the chairman, later passed a resolution supporting the campaign.
In 2001 the government recognized the Thao (
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said