The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday voiced its support for a Bunun hunter who was convicted on charges of poaching and illegal possession of firearms, calling on President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to respect her apology made to the nation’s Aboriginal communities, while KMT Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) called the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) “fake Taiwanese” for persecuting Aborigines.
KMT officials and KMT Aboriginal lawmakers held separate news conferences to voice criticism of the government’s failure to live up to Tsai’s promise to safeguard Aborigines’ rights, citing the case of Bunun hunter Tama Talum, also known by his Chinese name, Wang Guang-lu (王光祿), who was found guilty of violating the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) and the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison in October last year.
Tama and his lawyers have argued that he is entitled to hunt and practice traditional Bunun culture under the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民基本法), and Prosecutor-General Yen Ta-ho (顏大和) filed an extraordinary appeal on his behalf in December last year.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The Supreme Court on Tuesday began to hear the appeal.
KMT caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟), an Amis, said the possession of self-made hunting rifles by Aborigines is an issue that concerns Aboriginal communities’ collective cultural rights.
The guilty verdict was based on Tama’s use of a rifle that was not of the less-sophisticated type usually used by Aborigines for hunting and ceremonies.
Aborigines cannot be asked to “use a 19th century rifle while living a modern life,” Sufin said.
KMT Legislator Yosi Takun (孔文吉), a Sediq, asked why Aborigines “are required to start fires with a bow drill when there are lighters?”
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) called on the Supreme Court to be lenient in reviewing the appeal, as different sets of values might be in conflict.
KMT headquarters has asked its caucus to submit amendment proposals to ensure Aborigines’ rights, Hu said, adding that the government has only paid lip service to Aboriginal communities, as “no concrete plans or agenda have been made by the DPP central and local governments to advance Aboriginal transitional justice.”
Han Chinese immigrants and their descendants have “lived in Taiwan since the 17th century and referred to themselves as ‘Taiwanese ... [and have caused] a near extinction of wildlife,” Alex Tsai said on Facebook. “These ‘Taiwanese’ have no right to boss Aborigines around.”
“The DPP is using the law to persecute Aborigines, and these fake ‘Taiwanese’ will not be forgiven by God,” he added.
Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said he does not foresee a Chinese military invasion of Taiwan in the next decade, although it is “perfectly possible” that China could seek to weaken the island’s status. “I don’t expect an all-out attack on Taiwan in, say, a 10-year period, which is as far as I can see,” Kissinger said yesterday in an interview on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS. Kissinger, 98, who also served as national security adviser and helped pave the way for then-US president Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 visit to China, said that “everyone wants to be a China hawk” and
Taiwanese actress Big S, also known as Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), and Chinese restaurateur Wang Xiaofei (汪小菲) officially announced their divorce yesterday, stating the decision was cordial and that they would be raising their two children together. The statement came by proxy through the couple’s legal counsel, filed by both Wang and Hsu. Hsu and Wang thanked fans for their love and support, with the couple saying that fate had blessed them with a time of happiness, and that they were grateful for their time together. They said that while they walked hand-in-hand as husband and wife, they would continue a cordial relationship as
UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS: Tortuous and possibly criminal penalties doled out by nine officers to a napping cadet have sparked calls for standardized discipline rules Defense experts called on the Ministry of Defense to create a standard code for maintaining discipline, after local media on Saturday reported that nine officers were reprimanded for administering inappropriate punishments to a conscript in Kinmen. Earlier last week, a boot camp recruit surnamed Chung (鍾) was stripped of his shirt and had icepacks placed against his armpits and crotch as a punishment for napping during physical training, the Kinmen Defense Command confirmed on Saturday. The command cadre of the battalion, including the battalion commander, the political warfare officer and the sergeant who ordered the drill have been transferred and could face
CCP IDEOLOGY: MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said the CCP’s consolidation around one leader would shrink the space for economic and private endeavors Beijing plans to intensify its unification campaign, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said yesterday in an assessment of statements by Chinese leaders, while stressing the importance of consensus among Taiwanese. At a conference on Chinese development and security prospects in the Taiwan Strait, MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) noted key developments in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rhetoric. Much attention has been given to the sixth plenum of the CCP Central Committee, which on Nov. 11 issued the party’s third-ever “historical resolution,” paving the way for Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to retain power through next year’s leadership reshuffle, Chiu said. According
RSS