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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
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The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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