Recognizing the Pingpu
In 1994, the UN General Assembly approved Aug. 9 as International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. That date was chosen to commemorate the day in 1982 when the UN’s European Headquarters in Geneva held its first conference on indigenous peoples’ rights, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations — under the UN Commission on Human Rights (WGIP) meeting. This was an important step in the direction of improved rights protection in many societies, promoting the goals of equality and justice, as well as enhanced social and economic development for indigenous peoples.
Another great historic victory for indigenous peoples was the passing of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) by the General Assembly on Sept. 13, 2007.
Taiwan’s Lowland Pingpu indigenous peoples were represented at the WGIP meetings in Geneva and have attended many other UN conferences since the early 1990s.
I first attended a WGIP meeting in 1996 and have participated in six such sessions in the years since. Through my work with Asian and international indigenous organizations, I also participated in the drafting and ultimate passing of the UNDRIP in 2007.
This experience, along with the participation of other Taiwan indigenous delegates (including Pingpu representatives) at UN forums has helped the government in Taiwan to better address indigenous issues and protect rights — including the approval of the Indigenous Basic Law by the Legislative Yuan in 2005.
The term Lowland Pingpu People refers to a number of indigenous peoples (there are ten Pingpu tribes: Babuza, Hoanya, Kahabu, Ketagalan, Makato, Pazeh, Papora, Siraya, Taokas and Tavorlong). We are an important member of the Austronesian family of languages, but also an essential member of the 370 million indigenous peoples around the world.
Members of the Ketagalan tribe and other Pingpu peoples have registered their organizations at the UN (including ATIC and TARA-Pingpu), and have attended UN meetings, as representatives of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples.
This year we commemorated the first anniversary of the Typhoon Morakot Disaster and also wanted to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Aug. 9. We would also like to remind the government and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Complaint Case filed by me with the UN Human Rights Council in May this year, charging the Ma Government with state racism, oppression and violating the rights of the Pingpu people, and denial of our indigenous status. This case will be taken up by the UN and as such has gathered much attention in Taiwan and internationally.
The question is: Why does the Ma Government continue to deny our existence as an ethnic group and refuse to allow us to register as indigenous people, when the UN and the international community have already recognized us as indigenous people of Taiwan ? Why does Ma and the Council of Indigenous Peoples continue to violate international rights conventions and declarations, such as the UNDRIP ?
This year’s Aug. 9 commemoration was headed by Ketagalan elder Lin Sheng-gyi (林勝義) in front of the Presidential Office Building on Ketagalan Boulevard. It is important to ensure both the government and wider society are aware that the UN and the international community have already recognized that the Pingpu people are members of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. We ask only that the Ma administration get in line with the rest of the world and put an end to this embarrassing scandal whereby the government continues to deny our existence and refuses to recognize us as an integral part of Taiwan’s multitude of ethnic groups.
In ancient times the area of Ketagalan Boulevard was where the Ketagalan tribe in the Taipei basin conducted religious rituals and trained young warriors to protect their homeland. It is therefore entirely appropriate that a Ketagalan ancestor worship ceremony was included to mark World Indigenous Peoples Day this year. We would also like to take the opportunity to commemorate people from indigenous communities in central and south regions who were victims of Morakot, especially the nearly 500 victims, in Siaolin Village, Kaohsiung County, mostly Lowland Pingpu People from the Tavorlong tribe.
We also want to proclaim to the world that the Ketagalan people have their traditional territory in northern Taiwan and we will do everything in our power to protect our important cultural sites and the homelands of Kongliao (貢寮) and Tienyuanliao (田洋寮) (under the threat from commercial development and destruction of the surrounding environment).
We proclaim our status and rights as indigenous people of Taiwan and declare that we are the original masters of this land. From this day on, we shall not accept being subjugated and marginalized. We shall speak up and not stay silent over government policies that violate our rights. We will demand that the Ma administration immediately recognize the Lowland Pingpu people as indigenous people of Taiwan.
We want to tell Ma the world is watching and the UN is monitoring this case; stop denying the existence of our people and stop the racist discrimination and denial of rights to the lowland Pingpu indigenous peoples.
JASON PAN SANYI
Miaoli
I came to Taiwan to pursue my degree thinking that Taiwanese are “friendly,” but I was welcomed by Taiwanese classmates laughing at my friend’s name, Maria (瑪莉亞). At the time, I could not understand why they were mocking the name of Jesus’ mother. Later, I learned that “Maria” had become a stereotype — a shorthand for Filipino migrant workers. That was because many Filipino women in Taiwan, especially those who became house helpers, happen to have that name. With the rapidly increasing number of foreigners coming to Taiwan to work or study, more Taiwanese are interacting, socializing and forming relationships with
Whether in terms of market commonality or resource similarity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). The two companies have agreed to set up factories in the US and are also recipients of subsidies from the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by former US president Joe Biden. However, changes in the market competitiveness of the two companies clearly reveal the context behind TSMC’s investments in the US. As US semiconductor giant Intel Corp has faced continuous delays developing its advanced processes, the world’s two major wafer foundries, TSMC and
Earlier signs suggest that US President Donald Trump’s policy on Taiwan is set to move in a more resolute direction, as his administration begins to take a tougher approach toward America’s main challenger at the global level, China. Despite its deepening economic woes, China continues to flex its muscles, including conducting provocative military drills off Taiwan, Australia and Vietnam recently. A recent Trump-signed memorandum on America’s investment policy was more about the China threat than about anything else. Singling out the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a foreign adversary directing investments in American companies to obtain cutting-edge technologies, it said
The recent termination of Tibetan-language broadcasts by Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a significant setback for Tibetans both in Tibet and across the global diaspora. The broadcasts have long served as a vital lifeline, providing uncensored news, cultural preservation and a sense of connection for a community often isolated by geopolitical realities. For Tibetans living under Chinese rule, access to independent information is severely restricted. The Chinese government tightly controls media and censors content that challenges its narrative. VOA and RFA broadcasts have been among the few sources of uncensored news available to Tibetans, offering insights
RSS