The law must be revised if the government wants to grant official recognition to Pingpu Aborigines campaigning for their rights, Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) Deputy Minister Lin Chiang-yi (林江義) said earlier this week.
Saying that the Aboriginal Identity Act (原住民身份法) stipulates that only Aborigines residing in mountain areas can be officially recognized as Aborigines, Lin said until the act is amended, the CIP must abide by the principle of the rule of law in dealing with the Pingpu people’s desire for official recognition as Aborigines.
Jason Pan (潘紀揚), president of the Taiwan Association for Rights Advancement of Pingpu Plain Aborigine Peoples, however, described Lin’s legal argument as “ineffectual and circular.”
“Article 2 leaves room open for further inclusion of groups after a survey has been done. The spirit of the law is inclusiveness, but it’s actually being used to exclude groups,” Pan said. “It’s become a politically discriminatory law that excludes the Pingpu people.”
He questioned the government’s interpretation of what an Aborigine “residing in a mountain area” is.
“By Lin’s standards, the Tao tribe and the Amis should not be recognized as Aborigines,” Pan said. “Close to 50 percent of the so-called “mountain Aborigines” now live in urban areas. Should they lose recognition status?”
The Tao live on Orchid Island, mostly in coastal areas, and the Amis, the most populous officially recognized Aboriginal group in Taiwan, live in the valleys and coastal areas of eastern Taiwan, Pan said.
Pan’s group said on Sunday that the UN special rapporteur on human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples has accepted its request to probe what the group calls the Taiwanese government’s refusal to grant the Pingpu official Aboriginal status.
Pan said the group received a message from UN Special Rapporteur James Anaya on May 6 saying its request would be given “close and careful consideration,” and that the UN could initiate communications with the Taiwanese government on the issue.
Asked about the CIP’s stance on the issue, Lin said the council has not yet received any information from the UN.
“If the UN rapporteur takes the initiative to contact us, we would be more than willing to communicate with him over the issue,” Lin said.
The CIP has subsequently issued a statement reiterating its respect for various Pingpu tribal groups’ appeals for official recognition of their status as Aborigines.
“The council will soon form a special task force to deal with the Pingpu affairs and will sincerely communicate with the relevant advocacy groups,” the statement said.
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
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
The New Taipei City Social Welfare Department on Thursday celebrated Paralympic competitor Chen Tzu-wei (張孜維), who received last year’s national Golden Eagle award for exemplary achievement by Taiwanese with disabilities. Chen, who suffers from childhood-onset muscular dystrophy, did not attend the first award ceremony held by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in November due to illness. Chen was formally presented with the award at the department, where he gave thanks to government workers for supporting his education and livelihood, the department said in a statement. Chen was raised by the Ai-hsin Home for Persons with Disabilities in the city’s Bali District (八里)
RSS