Aboriginal lawmakers yesterday called for the redrawing of Aboriginal electoral districts to better reflect regional differences and ethnic diversity.
“Aboriginal voters elect three mountains Aboriginal lawmakers and three plains Aboriginal lawmakers, who represent all Aborigines across the country,” said People First Party Legislator Lin Cheng-er (林正二) of the Amis tribe, during an Internal Administration Committee meeting yesterday morning.
Under the system, six Aboriginal legislators represent all 500,000 Aborigines nationwide.
“So, when we run for legislative seats, it’s like running for the presidency, because our electoral district covers the entire country,” Lin said.
Such a large “electoral district” makes it difficult not only for candidates to campaign, but also to serve their constituents once elected.
“Maybe the Aboriginal electoral district could be cut into half, with one northern district and one southern district, both covering about nine to 11 counties and cities,” he said.
Lin said that among the three plains Aboriginal seats, one should be reserved for a non-Amis representative, since the Amis is the most populous plains Aboriginal tribe, and usually occupy all plains Aboriginal seats in the legislature.
“With more than 180,000 people — or two-thirds of all plains Aborigines — it’s often we Amis who occupy plains Aboriginal seats,” he said. “It’s not very fair to non-Amis tribes.”
In the legislative election in January, “all 10 plains Aboriginal candidates were Amis, because politicians from other plains Aboriginal tribes knew they would not get elected and thus gave up running,” he said.
Under the current electoral system, Aboriginal voters are divided into “mountains Aborigines” and “plains Aborigines,” and each category elects three representatives.
Although the term “mountains Aborigines” refers mainly to Aboriginal tribes living in the mountains, while “plains Aborigines” refers mainly to tribes living on the plains, the description is not entirely accurate, since the definition was based more on some complicated historical reasons.
Mountains Aboriginal tribes include the Atayal, Sediq, Truku, Bunun, Tsou, Paiwan, Rukai and Saisiyat in Miaoli County’s Nanjhuang Township (南庄) — also known as “southern Saisiyat” — and Tao, who live on Lanyu (蘭嶼), or Orchid Island, in the Pacific.
Plains Aboriginal tribes include the Amis, Sakizaya, Kavalan, Thao, Puyuma and Saisiyat in Hsinchu County’s Wufeng Township (五峰), also known as “northern Saisiyat.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chien Tung-ming (簡東明) of the Paiwan tribe agreed on the need to redraw Aboriginal electoral districts, but said dividing Aboriginal electoral districts into three — northern, central and southern — was more appropriate.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) and Central Election Commission Vice Chairman Liu I-chou (劉義周) both said that they would consider the suggestions.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS