Following the Ministry of the Interior’s approval last week for Taoyuan County to be upgraded to a special municipality, several Aboriginal rights advocacy groups yesterday voiced their concern about its negative impact and urged the legislature to amend the Local Government Act (地方制度法) to ensure autonomy in Aboriginal areas.
While many people — including Taoyuan County Commissioner John Wu (吳志揚) — may be happy over the upgrade, which would entail an increase in budget and power, Atayal Aborigines are worried that the change could be a step backward in their struggle for autonomy, and questioned the legality of the decision.
“At the moment, Fusing Township (復興) in Taoyuan County is designated an Aboriginal township with a mayor and a council elected by all residents, and based on the law, the post of mayor can only be filled by an Aborigine,” Yabu Eyo, a representative from a Fusing-based Atayal Aborigines self-help organization, told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan yesterday morning.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“When Taoyuan County becomes a special municipality, Fusing Township would become merely a district, with the head of the district being appointed by the mayor — and we would lose our council as well,” he said. “We are worried that the appointed district chief may not understand Atayal culture, customs and traditions.”
He questioned the legality of the decision, because, based on the Aboriginal Basic Act (原住民族基本法), Aboriginal residents must be consulted and must express their consent when a major change is to be made to a traditional Aboriginal domain.
Omi Wilang, president of the Taoyuan County Association for Sustainable Development of Atayal Communities, said that while Aboriginal residents are not satisfied with Fusing’s current status as a township in a county, “at least we have a minimal degree of autonomy.”
He also questioned the necessity of having six special municipalities in a country as small as Taiwan.
“Look, how many special municipalities are there in China? How many in Japan? Given limited budgets and resources, administrative upgrades have no major positive impact on the people, rather, it hurts our rights,” Omi said.
“We will continue to protest, along with former Aboriginal townships that have been turned into municipal districts in the last wave of administrative upgrades,” he said.
In 2010, the former Aboriginal townships of Namasiya (那瑪夏), Maolin (茂林) and Taoyuan (桃源) became municipal districts when Kaohsiung County was merged with Kaohsiung City and became the special municipality of Greater Kaohsiung. Similar changes also occurred in the current Heping District (和平) in Greater Taichung and Wulai District (烏來) in New Taipei City (新北市).
Pasang Hsiao (蕭世暉), a member of the Association for Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Policy, urged the legislature to amend the Local Government Act to either exclude Aboriginal townships from administrative upgrades, or grant special municipalities the power to create special administrative regions for former Aboriginal townships.
“With the administrative upgrade, the level of autonomy of Aboriginal townships should have been upgraded, not eliminated,” Hsiao said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Kung Wen-chi (孔文吉), a Sediq Aborigine, voiced his full support for the activists.
He said by telephone that had proposed amendments granting special status to Aboriginal townships, but they were not passed.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) said the ministry understood the wishes of the Aborigines, but it could not make an exception that is not included in law.
“Changing Aboriginal townships to municipal districts is temporary only — until the law on Aboriginal autonomy is passed. When it’s passed, all Aboriginal areas will be granted autonomy,” Chien said.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄), which earlier this week became the first Taiwanese novel to win the International Booker Prize, is to be adapted into a television series through a Taiwan-Japan coproduction, producer Chang Chen-yu (張辰漁) said yesterday. Chang, a producer at World Softest Production Film Co, wrote on Facebook that the company had been searching for projects with international appeal that retain a strong Taiwanese identity after colleagues and Japanese partners strongly recommended the novel. After reading the book, Chang said he immediately decided to pursue the screen rights. “A great story has the power to transcend time and borders, and connect countless people,”
RSS