President Chen Shui-bian (
"This Kavalan renaissance repre-sents the resurgence of ethnic consciousness and cultural awareness," Chen said as he attended the tribe's Harvest Festival in Hualien County yesterday afternoon.
The president noted that the Cabinet-level Council of Indigenous Peoples (原住民族委員會) has researched the tribe's pedigree, language and social system in a bid to carry out the Kavalan people's wish to restore their dignity.
PHOTO: HUA MENG-CHING, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen said the Kavalan's Harvest Festival symbolizes the concerted efforts of the grassroots and the government, both of which have worked to protect Taiwan's traditional culture.
"I believe the nation's rich culture of multiethnic groups will put Taiwan in the international spotlight and make it a role model for other countries to follow," Chen said.
Council Chairman Chen Chien-nien (陳建年) said the Kavalan used to be incorrectly categorized as part of the Amis' (阿美族) tribal system, and that the government is now working to bring back the tribe's name.
The majority of the 1,000-strong Kavalan now reside in Hualien and Taitung counties.
The 10 recognized Aboriginal tribes in Taiwan are the Atayal (
The Amis is the largest group, accounting for more than one-third of the nation's indigenous population.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS