Members of Aboriginal Policy Watch yesterday condemned the government for failing to take effective action to combat the high rate of unemployment among the nation's Aborigines.
“Figures released by the Council of Indigenous Peoples on April 20 showed that the unemployment rate for Aborigines reached 7.93 percent,” said Mayaw Kumu, a co-founder of the group composed of Aboriginal activists and politicians.
This compares with a national average of 5.81 percent in March.
“However, the government is doing nothing to help,” Mayaw said.
Mayaw said that the proposed amendment to the Indigenous Peoples Employment Rights Protection Act (原住民族工作權保障法) — which was submitted to the legislature for review two years ago during the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration to ensure better work opportunities for Aborigines — continued to be stalled in the legislature.
“The Cabinet even made a decision to lower the minimum required percentage of Aboriginal workers at free trade port districts from 5 percent to 1 percent,” Mayaw said.
DPP Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩) of the Puyuma tribe criticized the government for refusing to grant tax exemptions to Aboriginal labor cooperatives.
These cooperatives were once eligible for exemption from the 5 percent business tax as well as subsidies from the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA).
The exemption ended in December 2007 as stipulated in the sunset clause of the Indigenous Peoples Employment Rights Protection Act. The CLA subsidies ended last year.
Chen, along with other Aboriginal lawmakers across party lines, asked Ministry of Finance officials during a legislative meeting earlier this month about reinstating the exemptions given the economic crisis, but finance officials rejected the idea, saying the national treasury could lose up to NT$70 million (US$2 million) in tax revenue.
“The government gives billions of NT dollar in tax breaks to corporations to stimulate the economy. But it can't grant tax breaks to Aborigines because it is afraid of losing NT$70 million in tax revenue?” Chen asked.
Huang Chin-peng (黃金鵬), chairman of an Aboriginal labor cooperative in Taipei, agreed.
“There used to be more than 280 Aboriginal cooperatives across the country, but only about 50 were left as of September,” Huang said. “Among the 50, only 20 to 30 are actually still operating.”
Huang said that as an Aboriginal labor cooperative employs about 30 people, “the closure of 200 cooperatives means that 6,000 people — or 6,000 families — have lost a source of income.”
In related news, the group also voiced their support for the Pingpu — or plains — Aboriginal campaign to regain their official Aboriginal status.
The Pingpu campaign suffered a setback recently, with the government refusing to allow them to register as Aborigines, saying they had voluntarily given up their status in the 1950s and 1960s when they failed to register with the government at the time.
“You [the government] have explained well the official procedure for declaring Aboriginal status 40 or 50 years ago. However, you have failed to answer the key question: Are they Aborigines?” said Wang Ming-hui (汪明輝), chairman of the Taiwan Aboriginal Society and a co-founder of Aboriginal Policy Watch.
“It's ridiculous to deny someone his or her ethnic identity because of some administrative process,” Wang said.
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