The nation's top official in charge of Aboriginal affairs had the name of his Aboriginal tribe formally registered by his name in government census records yesterday, making him the country's first citizen to be formally identified as a member of a specific Aboriginal tribe.
Flanked by fellow members of his Puyuma Aboriginal tribe, Chen Chien-nien (陳建年), chairman of the Council of Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), arrived at the local government office in his hometown of Taitung. He then registered his identity and, under the category of racial designation, he stated that he is a member of the Puyuma tribe -- one of the 10 major groups of indigenous people in Taiwan.
Under the Japanese colonial government and the KMT administration, all Aboriginal people in Taiwan were registered in the official household register only as "Aborigines," without identifying the names of their specific Aboriginal races, according to Chen.
He noted that the new identification method underscores the DPP administration's respect for the country's Aboriginal citizens in terms of their living rights.
The new identification system will help the government and the people to carry out censuses and related studies, which will in turn provide better access to government aid for Aboriginal people, he added.
Chen, who was a Taitung county chief for eight years before becoming CAA chairman, is a member of the Puyuma race, whose population of about 10,000 people mainly resides in the southern part of Taitung County.
According to Chen, the nation's Aboriginal population totaled 424,494 as of April 30 this year.
Unlike previous decades, when most of the Aboriginal people were scattered throughout 30 mountainous villages and 25 counties in low-lying areas around the country, about one-third of all Aboriginal citizens now live in cities to make a living.
Taiwan's Aboriginal citizens are roughly divided into 10 official groups, including the recently officially recognized Thao group, according to Chen.
The Ami Aboriginal tribe is the largest, with a population of approximately 140,000, followed by the Atayal, with a population of about 80,000, the Paiwan, with 60,000, and the Bunun, with about 40,000 people.
The populations of the Rukai and the Puyuma both barely total 10,000, followed by the Tsou with some 7,000, the Saisiat with some 5,000 and the Tao with about 4,000.
The Thao people make up the smallest group, with a population of no more than 300, Chen quoted the latest CAA tallies as indicating.
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