Amis Aborigines yesterday protested outside the legislature against a proposed development law and development projects in traditional Amis areas along the east coast, plans for which they claimed local residents were not consulted.
“We demand that Aborigines be consulted and involved in any development projects undertaken on traditional Aboriginal lands as the Aboriginal Basic Act (原住民族基本法) stipulates,” Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, a member of the Amis Defense Alliance, told reporters at the demonstration.
“We also demand that a co-management mechanism between locals and the operator of any development projects be established,” Pacidal said. “Based on the first two demands, we are asking for a halt to the planned Baosheng [Aquarium Park] project.”
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Four tourism facilities, including theme parks, resorts and hotels, are to be built around the Sansiantai (三仙台) area in Taitung County, a traditional Amis domain known by the tribe as “Pisiliang.”
The Baosheng project has attracted special attention because construction was scheduled to start on Monday, though it was postponed indefinitely because of strong opposition from local residents, said Namoh Nofu Pacidal, another member of the Amis Defense Alliance.
“The developer [of the Baosheng project] called a meeting with local residents on May 30, but did not allow the locals to talk and the purpose of the meeting was only to announce that construction was to begin within a week,” Namoh Nofu Pacidal said. “When they made their presentation, the locals requested Amis interpretation because many elders could not understand Mandarin, but the request was rejected.”
While the situation remains unresolved, the alliance called on the government and developers to abide by the Aboriginal Basic Act, and refrain from development projects without consent from Aborigines.
Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of having formal diplomatic relations with countries that also have formal ties with China, regardless of Beijing’s stance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Sunday. There was speculation in 2012 that Honduras was attempting to have simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taiwan and China, an idea that then-minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) rejected. Honduras severed formal ties with Taiwan on Sunday morning after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has taken a more practical approach to relations with like-minded countries since assuming government in 2016. Previous administrations took the
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
ORIGIN UNKNOWN: The Leofoo Village Theme Park and Taipei Zoo have accounted for their baboons, as authorities continue a 12-day capture attempt Authorities in Taoyuan are searching for a non-native baboon, possibly of the chacma species, that has been spotted several times in the city’s Pingjhen District (平鎮) over the past 12 days, and was most recently seen in coastal Sinwu District (新屋). The baboon was first spotted near a local factory on March 10 in central Taoyuan, Jhensing Borough Warden Huang Chih-chieh (黃志杰) said. Huang said he requested the Leofoo Village Theme Park’s help after a second sighting on Saturday. In other sightings, the baboon raided fruit and vegetable gardens on private property, and has evaded one capture attempt via a tranquilizer dart. Media reported
Taiwan would have established formal relations with Argentina long ago if not for China’s interference, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui told US-based Spanish-language online news outlet Infobae in an interview published on Tuesday. Beijing has left behind a string of unfulfilled promises in Latin America, including pledges to build the Grand Nicaragua Canal and airports, docks, ports and industrial zones in El Salvador, he said. Meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and other countries enjoy pragmatic and improving relations with Taiwan based on cooperation on the economy, culture, technology and science, he said. While Taiwan is “happy to live and let live,”
RSS