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.
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