The Association for Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Policies (ATIPP) has criticized as superficial a provision allowing residents in Aboriginal districts in special municipalities to elect their district chief and a representative council, while special municipalities worry the provision may result in a large financial burden.
According to the Local Government Act (地方制度法), designated Aboriginal townships are entitled to special rights, such as direct funding from the central government, independence in handling budgets and freedom to elect mayors and representative councils.
However, administrative upgrades turning several former cities and counties into special municipalities either separately or after mergers in 2010 have turned several former Aboriginal townships — including Wulai Township (烏來) in former Taipei County, Heping Township (和平) in former Taichung County, and Taoyuan (桃源), Namasiya (那瑪夏) and Maolin (茂林) townships in former Kaohsiung County — into special municipal districts.
In these districts, chiefs are appointed by the mayor, while all decisions are made by the city council.
Responding to protests and petitions by Aboriginal rights groups, the Legislative Yuan adopted a series of amendments to the Local Government Act allowing Aboriginal residents in such districts within special municipalities to elect district chiefs and representative councils.
However, the amendments are less than satisfactory to some.
“Although, it may seem that Aboriginal districts in special municipalities have more power now as residents will be allowed to elect their own district chief and council, the elections are superficial, and political rights for Aborigines in Aboriginal districts are still minimal compared to those living in Aboriginal townships in counties,” ATIPP president Oto Micyang, an Amis Aborigine, said yesterday.
Oto said that, for instance, Aboriginal townships receive funds directly from the central government, and township offices and councils collectively make budgetary decisions, “but now, even though Aboriginal residents in special municipalities are able to elect their district chiefs and councils, the funding would still come from the municipal councils, so it is still the city councils that have the final say on the allocation of funds.”
“During his first presidential campaign in 2008 and re-election bid in 2012, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) promised to grant autonomy to the nation’s Aborigines,” Oto said. “But there’s not only lack of progress in Aboriginal autonomy, we’re moving backward on the issue.”
Greater Kaohsiung Government Deputy Secretary-General Chien Chen-cheng (簡振澄) expressed concern about the financial burden.
“Greater Kaohsiung has three Aboriginal districts — Namasiya, Taoyuan and Maolin — so it would be a big financial burden for us to fund district chief and council elections,” Chien said. “In addition, the city government would have to pay for the salaries of district chiefs and council members.”
Chien called on the central government to grant the city governments more financial assistance in organizing the elections and paying the salaries.
However, Deputy Minister of the Interior Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇) said that while the Ministry of the Interior does not have the final say on how the funding is allocated, what Chien calls for is not likely to happen.
“Although it’s up to the Ministry of Finance and the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics to decide how the funding is allocated, not the Ministry of the Interior, the central government is not likely to do so according to current laws,” Hsiao said.
Hsiao said it is clearly stated in the Election and Recall Act for Public Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法) that local elections be financed by local governments, while the Local Government Act stipulates that local governments have to take care of the salaries of local government employees and elected local officials or representatives.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard