Led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Aboriginal Legislator Kung Wen-chi (孔文吉), a Taiwan Indigenous Survival and Development Association (TISDA) delegation is leaving for New York today to take part in the eighth annual UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
“The main objective of the TISDA delegation will be to discuss and exchange ideas with indigenous groups from other countries on Aboriginal policies — especially on Aboriginal autonomy — after the UN adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007,” Kung told a news conference at the legislature yesterday.
The Council of Indigenous People (CIP) sent a delegation to the forum earlier this week, but the TISDA delegation will be the only non-governmental group representing Taiwanese Aborigines at the meeting.
RECOGNITION
The delegation includes several Aboriginal university students who will focus on issues relating to Aboriginal women and young people, said Jason Pan (潘紀揚), a Pazeh tribal name restoration activist.
The Pazehs are one of the nation’s Pingpu — or plains — Aborigines who are campaigning for official recognition as an Aboriginal tribe.
“I hope to talk with indigenous peoples from other countries who recently gained official recognition — such as the Ainus in Japan and the Metis in Canada — and learn from their experiences,” Pan said.
Kung said he would deliver a keynote speech on the current status of Aboriginal policies in Taiwan to an international audience.
AUTONOMY
“Although I’m affiliated with the governing party, I will tell the truth and not hide anything [during the speech],” Kung said.
“I will point out that Aboriginal policies, especially progress on autonomy, is seriously delayed because of a lack of execution and determination in the CIP leadership,” he said.
“At the moment, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are fighting over ideological differences,” he said. “We Aborigines must not be dragged into it; only authentic autonomy could bring Aborigines a bright future.”
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