President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday stood firm on his stance to launch the controversial adjustments made to high-school curriculum guidelines as he addressed one of the debatable items regarding Aborigines.
The government “harbored no ill intent” by changing the term “Aborigines” (原住民) to “Aboriginal ethnicity” (原住民族), Ma said when he delivered a speech at the national conference on indigenous issues.
Ma said that the replacement was made because “Aboriginal ethnicity” is the term generally used in the Republic of China Constitution and law.
“In this regard, the change was made to help indigenous people create a sense of belonging and build autonomy. This was our ultimate objective,” Ma said, without elaborating on how the change would achieve that goal.
Aboriginal activist groups said the reintroduction of “Aboriginal ethnicity” in the new guidelines, to be launched today, demonstrates how the curriculums are guided by “Han-centered” historical views only.
As defined under the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法), “Aboriginal ethnicity” only refers to the 16 recognized Aboriginal tribes, meaning that the Pingpu tribes do not exist, with the exception of the Kavalan tribe, recognized as the 11th Aboriginal tribe in 2002.
Pingpu tribes refer to the nation’s plains-dwelling Aborigines, who belong to several different tribes, each with its own distinct culture.
Meanwhile, reporters hurled questions at Ma when he arrived at the conference venue, asking if his administration would respond to the demands of the students that the new version of the curriculum guidelines be revoked and Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) step down over the controversy.
Ma walked quickly into the conference room without answering the questions.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS