Issuing official documents in Aboriginal languages is an important step toward achieving transitional justice for Aborigines, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
“The most effective way to pass on a language is to use it frequently,” Tsai said on Facebook with a photograph of an official document published in Amis by the Kuangfu Township (光復) Office in Hualien County.
Under the Aboriginal Language Development Act (原住民族語言發展法) that took effect last month, the languages of 16 Aboriginal communities are “national languages” and that local governments, schools and state-run enterprises in Aboriginal regions can choose to issue official documents in Aboriginal languages, the president said.
Local governments in Pingtung, Hualien, Taitung and Nantou counties yesterday began to issue official documents entirely or partially written in Aboriginal languages, Tsai said.
Issuing scuh documents is a first for the nation and represents an important step toward achieving transitional justice, she said.
Tsai pledged that the government would continue to pay more attention to Aboriginal cultures.
The act stipulates that local governments, Aboriginal regions and non-Aboriginal areas with more than 1,500 Aborigines should establish offices to promote local languages, and the central government should help establish organizations to promote Aboriginal languages
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system