Indigenous people who plan to import homemade guns for hunting purposes would be required to pass a training course administered by the Council of Indigenous Peoples on safe use of hunting guns, the council said yesterday.
The council yesterday launched its first safe-use training session for homemade guns in Taoyuan in accordance with ruling No. 803 issued by the Constitutional Court on May 7, 2021.
The ruling requires the Ministry of the Interior to include in the Regulations Governing Permission and Management of Guns, Ammunition, Knives and Weapons (槍砲彈藥刀械許可及管理辦法) a clear definition that protects the constitutional right of indigenous people to engage in legal hunting activities through the safe use of “self-made” hunting guns.
Photo: Chou Min-hung, Taipei Times
An amendment to regulations must be proposed within two years following the issuance of the ruling, the court said
The ruling recognizes indigenous hunting cultures and ecosystem protection as important values protected by the Constitution, Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Tseng Chih-yung (曾智勇) said at the opening ceremony of the course.
“The first training course is to serve as a trial, and it would help modify training for indigenous hunters’ needs,” Tseng said. “In the future, indigenous people would be required to pass a training course for the safe use of hunting guns before they can apply to have them imported to Taiwan, according to the amendment to the regulations proposed by the National Police Agency last year.”
The training would ensure the safety of indigenous hunters and sustainable conservation of indigenous hunting cultures, he said.
The course includes 10 hours of gun use, three hours of training on basic knowledge of hunting and 11 hours in the field, the council said, adding that it would include the importance of wildlife protection in indigenous cultures and regulations.
The council added that it is considering allowing indigenous people and hunters’ associations to facilitate an 11-hour hunting practice section.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man