A remark Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊) made yesterday implying that Han people are smarter than Aborigines has sparked criticism from Aboriginal activists.
Wang made the remark at a seminar on human rights protection hosted by the Control Yuan. He was speaking about how the Control Yuan can help to protect Aboriginal rights.
He started by accusing the government of not doing enough to enhance Aboriginal rights, and said the Control Yuan would take punitive steps against government agencies that do not work hard enough to improve Aboriginal rights.
However, when discussing why Aborigines are in a disadvantaged position in local society, Wang said part of the reason was because Han people could easily outsmart Aborigines.
Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Sun Ta-chuan (孫大川), who was present at the conference, defended Wang’s statement.
“If you put what he [Wang] said in context, he actually meant that the Aborigines are more trusting and more honest, so Aborigines are more likely to be deceived by Han people,” Sun said. “I think that’s quite true, according to my own experience.”
However, Sun’s defense did not convince Aboriginal activists.
“As the Control Yuan president, Wang should be more careful when talking,” convener of the Preparatory Committee for Saisiat Autonomy, Obay a Awi, told the Taipei Times by telephone. “No matter how you try to defend the remark, it’s just not something that an educated person and a high-ranking government official like Wang should have said.”
Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of Aboriginal Affairs director Icyang Parod said Wang’s statement was “very inappropriate.”
“[Wang made] a very discriminatory remark out of very typical Han chauvinism,” Icyang said. “He has the traditional Chinese mentality that all ethnic minorities are backward peoples.”
“It’s very inappropriate,” he added.
Wang sparked controversy earlier this week when he praised President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in an interview with the Chinese-language China Times, saying that Ma is an excellent person in many aspects.
Wang said in the interview that Ma was not only a knowledgeable person with a good command of a foreign language, but was also young and healthy and could run and swim.
He said Ma is a person with principles, and thus would not “take off his pants right on the street” to please the public.
The comments drew criticism from politicians from both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the DPP, who accused him of “brown-nosing” while serving as the head of an entity that is supposed to monitor government policies and actions.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS