In a show of solidarity among the Puyuma people in Taitung County, the Puyuma National Congress voiced its support for five hunters who were detained in December last year, demanding an official apology from police officials as well as legislation to protect the hunting rights of Aborigines.
Representatives from all 10 Puyuma villages — which contain eight clans and a total population of about 13,000 people — announced the launch of a broader campaign to rally support among Aboriginal people nationwide.
The five hunters — all from Taitung’s Papulu village — were detained by officers for nearly a full day from Dec. 30 to Dec. 31 over allegations that they had unregistered firearms in violation of the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例).
The incident forced the abrupt end of the group’s annual mangayaw, or hunting festival.
The arrests sparked an outcry among Aboriginal residents, who accused police officers of arresting the hunters to boost their year-end performance records.
Aboriginal rights advocates from across the nation said that the incident reflected disrespect toward Aboriginal culture, adding that regulations on gun control failed to account for different cultural traditions.
The Taitung District Prosecutors’ Office rejected the case and the hunters were released.
Villagers from Papulu and their supporters then launched a string of protests against the arrests, including a demonstration in front of the Chenggong Police Precinct in Chenggong Township (成功).
Group spokesperson Pan Tiao-chih (潘調志) questioned the sincerity of police officials, saying that although the villagers received a spoken apology from the precinct chief, their other demands for reform have been ignored.
Pan said the incident highlighted the importance of national legislation to protect Aboriginal hunting rights, adding that Puyuma people should have the right to utilize natural resources during mangayaw.
Further protests are set to take place before a meeting with inspectors from the Control Yuan scheduled for Feb. 24, Pan said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS