Town returns to its roots with Aboriginal moniker

The name Sanmin Township (三民) is now history, as the Kaohsiung County township was officially renamed Namasiya Township on New Year's Day, ending 50 years of being known by an imposed name.

The Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) said other towns were expected to follow suit.

In the 1950s, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime changed the town's name from Maya to Sanmin, a reference to Sun Yat-sen's (孫逸仙) Three Principles of the People.

The township is the first to return to an explicitly indigenous name after its council unanimously agreed to change its name to Namasiya last month.

According to CIP Chairman Icyang Parod, the name change followed the wishes of the residents and fits in with President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) push to restore Aboriginal names to mountains and rivers.

"We held numerous public hearings on the name issue to gather opinions from different sides. The entire change was done democratically," Icyang said.

Hualien County's Hsiulin Township (秀林) applied last month to be renamed "Taroko Township" (太魯閣), Icyang said, adding that the CIP would offer assistance and funding to townships applying for name changes.

The word "namasiya" is the Tsou word for the township's main river, Icyang said. It has the added bonus of sounding similar to the Bunun phrase for "tomorrow will be better."