Aborigines engaging in exchanges in China should insist on being recognized as Aborigines, and not as “Taiwanese minorities,” Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod said yesterday.
“I cannot accept our Aborigines being called ‘minorities,’ which does not conform with our nation’s laws,” Icyang told a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee after he was invited to report on the state of the council.
Icyang also reviewed next year’s annual budget for the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) said he was not opposed to Aborigines meeting with members of China’s ethnic groups, but they should demand to be referred to as Taiwanese as a prerequisite for participation in such exchanges.
Being called a “Taiwanese minority” is disparaging to Taiwan’s first inhabitants, Chang said.
Having once been called “mountain compatriots” (山胞), Aborigines have endured a long process to be recognized as “Aborigines,” he said, adding that there was now a consensus on this terminology in Taiwan.
Even many of the ethnic groups in China referred to by Beijing as “minorities” are recognized by the UN as Aborigines, but the Chinese government has so far ignored UN convention on the matter, Icyang said.
DPP Legislator Hung Chun-yi (洪宗熠) criticized a statement by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who recently said he supported the idea of putting flag platforms on the peaks of every mountain in Taiwan that is at least 3,000m above sea level.
Hung asked whether the KMT’s presidential candidate had sought the input of Aborigines.
The idea would be destructive to the environment and has already been shot down by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who confirmed that no development should take place on mountains considered sacred to Aborigines, Icyang said.
Citing Palau, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Yu-jen (許毓仁) said that while Taiwan could not compete with China in terms of generating tourism revenue for Pacific Island nations, of which Palau is one of Taiwan’s four allies in the region, it has a special connection with those nations due to a shared family of Aboriginal languages.
Icyang presented some of the report in his native Amis language, which he said was an implementation of the Aboriginal Language Development Act (原住民族語言發展法) introduced on May 26, 2017.
The act made Aboriginal languages official, and stipulated that public institutions be required to provide official documents in them.
The council also provided written copies of yesterday’s report in Amis and Paiwan — the first time council reports were provided in those languages.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
RSS