Name and status restoration activists of the Pingpu (平埔) — also known as plains Aborigines — yesterday visited the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) and urged it to give them a hand in their campaign.
The council, however, did not give a positive response.
“We, members of the Pingpu tribes, would like to invite [CIP] Minister Chang Jen-hsiang [章仁香] to attend the public hearing on restoration of Pingpu tribal names and Aboriginal status,” Siraya Culture Association chairwoman Wan Shu-chuan (萬淑娟) said as she handed the invitation to CIP Planning Department Director Wang Chiu-i (汪秋一), who accepted it on Chang’s behalf.
The Siraya are a Pingpu tribe that live in parts of Tainan and Chiayi counties.
Pingpu refers to assimilated Aborigine tribes that dwell on the plans, who once lived throughout the flat areas of the country from Keelung all the way to Pingtung before Han migrants from China and colonial powers arrived in Taiwan.
It’s not easy to find Pingpu today, since most have been culturally assimilated into Han society through intermarriage or were forced to change their identities.
Most Pingpu tribes also lost their status as Aborigines in official records once the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime took over Taiwan after World War II.
Despite their tragic past, some Pingpu still remember their identity and have been struggling for restoration of their tribal names and Aboriginal status for about 20 years.
“We would like the CIP to give us a hand in our campaign,” Wan told Wang.
Wang’s response disappointed Wan and other activists.
Wang promised that the CIP would send someone to today’s public hearing, but added that it wasn’t likely that the CIP could do anything to help restore Aboriginal status to the Pingpu unless changes were made to the Aboriginal Identity Act (原住民身份法). “For that, we fully respect legislative power,” he said.
The law states that only people whose parents are registered in the household registration records as Aborigine may be conferred Aboriginal status.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS