The Executive Yuan yesterday passed a bill entitling the nation’s Aborigines to establish self-governing dominions parallel to county or city governments.
The bill, which had already been described by some Aboriginal groups as a political tool of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) ahead of special municipality elections in November, has now been sent to the legislature for approval.
If the bill passes the legislature, each tribe living in different administrative districts or different tribes living in neighboring areas could initiate plans to establish self-governing dominions and councils.
Aboriginal self-governing dominions established across the borders of administrative districts, however, would not invalidate the current demarcation of the districts.
“Once a self-governing dominion is established, it would help a dispersed group of people unite together, an impetus for them to continue their traditional and culture,” Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples Sun Ta-chuan (孫大川) said.
“I know the bill is not to everybody’s satisfaction, but we’re trying to at least get it started,” Sun said. “The practicability of the bill will ensure its implementation and will be to the benefit of Aborigines.”
Under the bill, Aborigines would have the right to handle matters to meet the needs of their communities, subject to the nature, jurisdiction and powers of the self-governing institutions and through negotiation with county and city governments.
The draft stipulates that disputes stemming from overlapping jurisdiction between Aboriginal self-governing dominions and county and city governments would be referred to the Executive Yuan for negotiation.
At a press conference following the Cabinet meeting, Sun said the council made a great effort to communicate with county and city governments as well as government agencies and “made some concessions.”
Some country and city governments would not have agreed if the council had insisted that Aboriginal dominions receive a share of tax revenue from the central government, as county and city governments do, Sun said.
“We cannot reverse history. If Aboriginal autonomous regions took budgets or land from existing counties and cities, we wouldn’t get any support,” Sun said, adding that it was “unrealistic” to expect Aborigines to see their traditional land returned to them from non-Aborigines or the government.
Several Aboriginal activists expressed their discontent with the proposed regulations yesterday.
“The government never consulted us when they were drafting the bill. It’s a bill for fake autonomy,” said Wutu Micyang, a member of the Indigenous Peoples’ Action Coalition of Taiwan.
“A request for autonomy submitted by Aborigines would have to be approved by local township offices and city or county councils,” Wutu said. “These clauses are roadblocks to our goal of realizing real autonomy.”
Other clauses, he said, grant the government the power to oversee farming activity by Aboriginal farmers to prevent overexploitation of land.
“The people who are overexploiting the land are non-Aboriginal developers and tourism operators who build large hot spring resorts, create theme parks or large farms for high-altitude fruits and vegetables, not individual Aboriginal farmers,” Wutu said.
Hsiao Shih-huei (蕭世暉), a member of the Association for Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Policies, said the bill could actually reduce the degree of Aboriginal autonomy.
“For example, Atayal Aborigines live in more than 10 townships in various counties,” Hsiao said. “Would they have to get approval from each township to create an Atayal autonomous region?”
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS