Transitional justice should include the Pingpu people — also known as plains Aborigines — rights advocates said yesterday at a protest outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei as the government moves to establish an Aboriginal transitional justice commission.
About 20 protesters from several Aboriginal and independence groups called on the government to return the “rightful name” to Pingpu people and identify them as part of transitional justice efforts.
“The government should squarely face the fact of our existence and it has a duty to ensure that our culture continues,” said Central Taiwan Pingpu Indigenous Groups Youth Alliance representative Kaisanan Ahuan, a member of the Taokas people, adding that the committee — which President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has promised to establish — should include Aboriginal representatives.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“The Aboriginal transitional justice commission should include our voices, because otherwise, the result will be an external interpretation of our issues,” Ahuan said.
Tsai promised to establish the commission after delivering an official apology to Aborigines, which she is expected to make on Aug. 1.
She promised to push for legal recognition of Pingpu Aborigines as part of her Aboriginal platform during last year’s election campaign.
Pingpu Aborigines claim descent from more than 10 plains Aboriginal groups who faced strong assimilation pressure following the arrival of Chinese immigrants, intermarrying extensively and in most cases losing their ancestral languages.
While activists have fought for decades for “plains” Aborigines to be granted official recognition held by less-assimilated “mountain” groups, only one — the Kavalan — has succeeded, winning official recognition in 2002.
“The Pingpu people are absolutely Aborigines,” said New Power Party Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, who is of the Amis people.
Self-identity is more important than conformance to an external set of conditions, Pacidal said.
“The fact that language has disappeared is not the fault of Aborigines, it reflects the harm inflicted by the colonial regime,” she said.
“If the government refuses to restore their identity, it is perpetuating colonial thinking and the harm they have suffered,” she said, adding that Pingpu people should be included in the transitional justice process because of abuses they experienced during previous governments.
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