The nation's Aboriginals should become pioneers in worldwide Aboriginal movements, said a Taiwanese Aboriginal delegation that returned from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPII) yesterday.
Seven Aborigines -- including a professor, graduate students and a journalist -- comprised the delegation selected by the Council of Indigenous People to participate in the sixth annual UNPII conference held in New York.
The mission statement on the forum's Web site said the UNPII is an "advisory body to [the UN] Economic and Social Council," which monitors developments related to indigenous peoples worldwide, including cultural, economic, social, environmental and human-rights issues.
PHOTO: HSIAO SU-MEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The delegation returned to Taiwan yesterday following the close of the two-week forum and held a press conference to share their experience.
Although the nation's Aboriginals are an ethnic minority, the delegation found that the nation's efforts to protect the rights of its Aboriginal population were relatively advanced. As an example, the delegation named the Taiwan Indigenous Television (TITV), which it said was of particular interest to the international Aboriginal community.
"Many people asked about TITV, as it's the first TV station in Asia fully dedicated to an indigenous population," said Lisin Payso, another member of the delegation and a reporter for TITV.
After participating in the forum, delegation members felt that Taiwanese Aboriginals should do more than fight for their own rights.
"Although we're a minority, Aboriginals in Taiwan and in Japan are actually better off than indigenous peoples in many other countries," Kao Ching-yi (
The delegation also took action on what it said was discriminatory language used by the UN in its translations of official texts into Chinese.
"The official Chinese translation for `indigenous people' used in UN documents is tuzhu (
Tuzhu implies "uncivilized indigenous people," Awi said.
"Hence, we've filed a petition to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to request the change of the Chinese term from tuzhu to yuanzhumin (原住民)," Awi said.
"We can make Taiwan a stage for worldwide Aboriginals," Kao said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS