Pingpu Aboriginal rights activists expressed disappointment yesterday after the Taipei High Administrative Court turned down a lawsuit against the Council of Indigenous People over its refusal to officially recognize Pingpu Aborigines.
A tearful Uma Talavan, chairwoman of the Tainan Pepo Siraya Culture Association, told reporters after leaving the courthouse that the court decision was regrettable.
“We thought we had a chance, but the court’s decision to turn down our lawsuit instead of making a clear ruling is very disappointing,” she said. “It’s been a very hard battle for us to fight for something as fundamental as our own ethnic identity.”
Photo: CNA
Though frustrated, “we will continue with our struggle,” she said.
The Siraya are a Pingpu group living mainly in Greater Tainan, as well as parts of Chiayi County and Greater Kaohsiung.
They filed the lawsuit against the council for its refusal to grant them official Aboriginal recognition.
“Even the Greater Tainan Government recognizes our Aborigine status,” Talavan said.
Pingpu, or plains, refers to various Aboriginal groups living in lowland areas around the country that have adopted the “Han” culture to different degrees, with many having lost their culture, language and ethnic identity.
Although they are also Aborigines, many Pingpu groups are not officially recognized as Aborigines because they failed to register their ethnic identity in the 1950s.
“We know we are of the Kahavu tribe, because we’ve always known it and there are still people who are able to speak the Kahavu language and we still practice the Kahavu culture,” said Aylian Hsiao (蕭愛蓮), a Pingpu Kahavu rights activist.
A majority of Pingpu Kahavu live in Puli Township (埔里), Nantou County.
When the Taiwan Provincial Government sent official notices calling for the registration of Aboriginal identities, “the four Kahavu villages never received the notice,” she said.
“As no one in all the four Kahavu villages in Puli knew about it, it is the government’s problem, not ours,” Hsiao said. “We were born Kahavu; it’s ridiculous to say that we’ve lost our ethnic identity because we didn’t register. This is a violation of our basic rights.”
Following the Siraya’s lawsuit, Hsiao said the Kahavu were also considering taking legal action against government institutions that failed to deliver the notice for registration decades ago.
Greater Tainan Department of Ethnic Affairs Director Isak Afo, who accompanied the Siraya in court, said the city government would give its full support to the Siraya when they appeal the case.
“The Siraya — as well as all Pingpu groups — were in Taiwan long before the Republic of China [ROC] government came to Taiwan,” Isak said. “The ROC government has no right to say that the Siraya are not Aborigines.”
“The city government supports the Pingpus’ call and we will apply for a constitutional interpretation if the Siraya fail in their subsequent appeals,” Isak said.
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