Members of Aboriginal Policy Watch yesterday condemned the government for failing to take effective action to combat the high rate of unemployment among the nation's Aborigines.
“Figures released by the Council of Indigenous Peoples on April 20 showed that the unemployment rate for Aborigines reached 7.93 percent,” said Mayaw Kumu, a co-founder of the group composed of Aboriginal activists and politicians.
This compares with a national average of 5.81 percent in March.
“However, the government is doing nothing to help,” Mayaw said.
Mayaw said that the proposed amendment to the Indigenous Peoples Employment Rights Protection Act (原住民族工作權保障法) — which was submitted to the legislature for review two years ago during the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration to ensure better work opportunities for Aborigines — continued to be stalled in the legislature.
“The Cabinet even made a decision to lower the minimum required percentage of Aboriginal workers at free trade port districts from 5 percent to 1 percent,” Mayaw said.
DPP Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩) of the Puyuma tribe criticized the government for refusing to grant tax exemptions to Aboriginal labor cooperatives.
These cooperatives were once eligible for exemption from the 5 percent business tax as well as subsidies from the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA).
The exemption ended in December 2007 as stipulated in the sunset clause of the Indigenous Peoples Employment Rights Protection Act. The CLA subsidies ended last year.
Chen, along with other Aboriginal lawmakers across party lines, asked Ministry of Finance officials during a legislative meeting earlier this month about reinstating the exemptions given the economic crisis, but finance officials rejected the idea, saying the national treasury could lose up to NT$70 million (US$2 million) in tax revenue.
“The government gives billions of NT dollar in tax breaks to corporations to stimulate the economy. But it can't grant tax breaks to Aborigines because it is afraid of losing NT$70 million in tax revenue?” Chen asked.
Huang Chin-peng (黃金鵬), chairman of an Aboriginal labor cooperative in Taipei, agreed.
“There used to be more than 280 Aboriginal cooperatives across the country, but only about 50 were left as of September,” Huang said. “Among the 50, only 20 to 30 are actually still operating.”
Huang said that as an Aboriginal labor cooperative employs about 30 people, “the closure of 200 cooperatives means that 6,000 people — or 6,000 families — have lost a source of income.”
In related news, the group also voiced their support for the Pingpu — or plains — Aboriginal campaign to regain their official Aboriginal status.
The Pingpu campaign suffered a setback recently, with the government refusing to allow them to register as Aborigines, saying they had voluntarily given up their status in the 1950s and 1960s when they failed to register with the government at the time.
“You [the government] have explained well the official procedure for declaring Aboriginal status 40 or 50 years ago. However, you have failed to answer the key question: Are they Aborigines?” said Wang Ming-hui (汪明輝), chairman of the Taiwan Aboriginal Society and a co-founder of Aboriginal Policy Watch.
“It's ridiculous to deny someone his or her ethnic identity because of some administrative process,” Wang said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS