Aboriginal groups yesterday filed a petition to the Control Yuan accusing the government of illegally declaring some Aboriginal areas “special zones” with bans on certain human activities.
The government earlier this month released a list of Aboriginal “special areas” that were not safe for habitation after Typhoon Morakot wreaked havoc in the south and east last August.
The designation became effective for the first three Aboriginal villages in Taitung and Pingtung Counties yesterday.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Aboriginal groups protested outside the Control Yuan and filed a formal complaint.
“A clause in Article 20 of the Post-Typhoon Morakot Reconstruction Special Act [莫拉克颱風災後重建特別條例] stipulates that governments — central or local — should negotiate with residents and reach a consensus before restricting residence or evacuating villages,” Hsiao Shih-huei (蕭世暉), a member of the Association for Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Policies, said at the demonstration.
“The same law also calls for governments to follow the Indigenous Peoples’ Basic Law [原住民族基本法] when dealing with Aboriginal domains, and [that law] requires that the government get consent from Aboriginal residents before making a decision that affects Aboriginal domains,” Hsiao said.
Hsiao said the Post-Typhoon Morakot Reconstruction Commission did not reach a consensus with Aborigines before announcing its list of “special zones.”
“Did the government act according to the Indigenous Peoples’ Basic Law? No! Was there consensus before the special zone designation? No! Did the government act according to the reconstruction act? No!” Hsiao said. “This is a serious violation of the law and an abuse of power.”
Wutu Micyang, representative of the Taiwan Alliance of Aboriginal Communities for Action, echoed Hsiao’s view.
“The government not only did not reach consensus with Aborigines, it tried to trick us when it explained to us what ‘special zones’ were. They tried to hide the negative side of the policy and told us only good things about it,” Wutu said. “They said only what compensation and assistance Aborigines can receive once their land is declared a special zone, and even said the designation won’t affect our rights at all.”
“If special zones won’t affect our rights, then why does the government want them?” Wutu questioned.
Aboriginal rights activist Omi Wilang questioned why parts of Taichung County that were not affected by Morakot had been included on the list of restricted zones and wondered whether some areas were put on the list to make way for corporations to build resorts or recreational parks.
Control Yuan member Yu Teng-fang (余騰芳), who sits on a special panel that is investigating the government’s response in the aftermath of Morakot, accepted the petition and promised to launch a probe into it.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
RSS