Aboriginal rights advocates yesterday called on the Presidential Office’s Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Commission to force revisions of controversial demarcation guidelines, while condemning the Democratic Progress Party (DPP) caucus for remaining silent.
“We hope that the commission will not be a rubber stamp for the Executive Yuan and truly reflect our communities’ voices by responding to our appeal,” Paiwan People’s Council preparation group member Ljegay Rupeljengan said at a news conference.
Several Aboriginal rights groups condemned the DPP and the People First Party caucuses for refusing to take an official stance on the revision of the guidelines.
In response to requests from advocates, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and New Power Party (NPP) caucuses called for the guidelines to be revised to remove restrictive language allowing only for the inclusion of public land and requested amendments to allow Aboriginal communities to demarcate their land without the approval of local governments, the groups said.
“We view a refusal to respond as being the same as saying no,” said Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Policies Association president Oto Micyang, an Amis.
The demarcation guidelines have been controversial since they were announced in February, and the legislative review process stalled after the Internal Administration Committee referred them to legislature-wide cross-caucus negotiations this month.
“This is not just about private land, because nearby public land would also be affected. Under public land release regulations, companies can apply for public land to be made private if related development plans win approval,” said Center for Indigenous Traditional Territory Land Policy Promotion executive secretary Pasang Tali, an Atayal, adding that there was a danger that the DPP only plans to pay lip service to Aboriginal causes without granting substantive rights.
Advocates maintain hope that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) — who chairs the commission — will force changes to the guidelines drafted under the direction of the Executive Yuan at a commission meeting tomorrow, he said.
“We will evaluate where we stand after the meeting and then decide our next steps,” he said, adding that advocates have been encouraging Aboriginal communities to begin demarcating their traditional areas without first winning government approval, with nine having taken action.
“It is not enough for Tsai to apologize to Aborigines. What is crucial is whether the massive government bureaucracy takes proactive measures to restore Aboriginal rights, land and dignity based on her apology,” said NPP Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, an Amis.
“If there is nothing, then the apology would look extremely cheap,” she added.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS