The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a draft act to create an Aboriginal historical justice and land surveying committee to probe past injustices and complete a survey of historical Aboriginal territories.
According to the bill, the proposed committee would probe infringements on Aboriginal rights through law, armed assaults or other coercive measures.
Unlike the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), which deals with injustices the government perpetrated against people from the end of World War II till the end of the Period of National Mobilization against Communist Rebellion, the proposed act would not set limits on the time frame for such cases.
The Council of Indigenous Peoples provided examples of encroachments on Aboriginal rights, including those committed by Dutch and Spanish invaders, the Dutch East India Co, Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功, also known as Koxinga), the Qing Dynasty, the Japanese colonial government, pirates and intruders.
The committee would investigate injustices such as forced relocation; changing Aboriginal culture, political or educational system, or other aspects of their societies; forbidding them from using their own languages; imposing restrictions on their use or management of land, sea and natural resources that are traditionally defined as a part of Aboriginal territories; and other actions that contravene the UN Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the International Bill of Human Rights or the Indigenous Peoples’ Basic Act (原住民族基本法).
The proposed act, which is to be forwarded to the Legislative Yuan for review, would require the committee to complete within two years investigations into the aforementioned injustices and to deliver a report to the Executive Yuan detailing the historical context in which an injustice occurred, as well as its perpetrators, decisionmakers and enforcers, and parties that should be held accountable.
It would then have to choose from one or more appropriate measures to address an injustice, such as issuing a public apology; paying compensation; recording newly uncovered facts in historical archives or textbooks; removing or renaming publicly displayed symbols or memorabilia commemorating people or incidents that infringed on Aboriginal rights; and preserving or restoring historic sites where injustices occurred, or designate such sites as cultural heritage sites, the bill says.
The committee is to be composed of 11 to 13 members and would have the same rights as the Transitional Justice Promotion Committee when conducting investigations, it says.
Individuals, groups, organizations or businesses that eschew or reject investigations without legitimate reasons would face a fine of between NT$100,000 and NT$500,000, the bill states.
The bill was drafted to fulfill the goals set by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2016, when she apologized to Aborigines on behalf of the nation and promised to uncover the truth and promote reconciliation in society, the council said.
Council Minister Icyang Parod told a news conference that the land surveying work assigned to the committee would serve as the reference for the delimitation of traditional Aboriginal territories after a draft Aboriginal land and sea bill is passed by the legislature, which would allow Aboriginal communities to approve or reject any development project in their territories.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS