Aboriginal rights groups yesterday called on Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to move beyond promises of apology and return Aboriginal lands to their owners.
Representatives from the Millet Foundation, Association for Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Policy, Indigenous Peoples’ Long Term Care Alliance and several other groups read a declaration out loud in unison, saying that while they welcomed Tsai’s recognition of Aboriginal people as the most important component of Taiwan’s cultural diversity, she needed to do more to recognize the invasion and occupation of Aboriginal lands, as well as stop exploitation and repair damage caused by the government.
The nation must acknowledge Aboriginal sovereignty and pay NT$100 billion (US$3.09 billion) annual compensation, as well as take action to return Aboriginal land, demonstrators said.
They said legal changes are needed to clearly delineate Aboriginal rights, adding that new government bodies are also needed to push forward the restoration of rights and facilitate communication with the government.
This year’s annual budget for the Council of Indigenous Peoples, which draws and executes policies related to Aboriginal communities, is NT$7.48 billion.
“The concept of compensation is crucial,” said Daya Dakasi, a National Chengchi University associate professor of ethnology and a member of the Atayal community, who helped prepare the statement. “Talks of apologies and reconciliation should not just become insignificant slogans. An apology is not real unless you follow through on your promises — you have to pay the price,” Dakasi said.
Tsai has promised to issue an official apology to Aborigines at this year’s Indigenous People’s Day in her official capacity as president.
Indigenous Peoples’ Long Term Care Alliance member Yunaw Sili, also of the Atayal community, said that land rights were crucial to addressing poverty among Aborigines and the breakdown of traditional society, which resulted from governmental “land grabs” during Japanese colonial rule.
The vast majority of lands in which Aborigines reside are national property as a result of Japanese colonial government claiming all lands not covered by formal property deeds.
“Because we have been stripped of land rights, we have not been able to freely develop and cope with difficulties in adjusting to economic development, this has resulted in most young people being forced into cities to look for work, altering the demographics and economy of villages,” he said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS