Pingpu groups (平埔族群) yesterday held a news conference in front of the Legislative Yuan, urging an end to what they call the “systematic exclusion” of indigenous groups, and demanded official status and equal rights.
Wearing traditional clothing, they performed rituals and called on lawmakers across party lines to support equality, transitional justice and protection of indigenous rights for Pingpu groups.
The Pingpu does not refer to a single ethnic group, but is generally used to describe Taiwanese indigenous peoples originally residing in lowland regions.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Kaisanan Ahuan of central Taiwan’s Taokas and Pan Jiaqun of southern Taiwan’s Makatao led the event, and were joined by representatives from other Pingpu groups, including those from the Ketagalan, Pazeh, Kaxabu, Papora, Babuza, Siraya and Tavalong.
“It is time for the government to restore justice and recognize different Pingpu groups, as we are the original inhabitants of Taiwan descending from ancient Austronesian people. The government has for too long ignored our existence, adopting colonial policies to marginalize and exclude Pingpu groups, and deprive us of official status and rights,” Kaisanan Ahuan said.
“We demand recognition and rights to indigenous culture, language and collective identity, along with rights to education, natural resources and autonomy on ancestral domains. We also demand equality, protection of rights and access to the same services as the officially recognized 16 indigenous groups,” Pan Jiaqun said.
The groups said they opposed a legislative bill introduced by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sra Kacaw, an Amis, which they said would grant status recognition in name only and not include them in the Council of Indigenous Peoples.
“We urge lawmakers not to endorse Sra Kacaw’s bill, which would give Pingpu groups no protection of indigenous rights. It would turn us into lower-class indigenous people, and we do not want that,” Kaisanan Ahuan said.
“We oppose Pingpu groups being treated with the mindset of old colonial regimes. We refuse the new ways of ‘divide and conquer’ aiming to sow discord and conflict among indigenous peoples,” the groups said in a statement.
“The drafting of bills should adopt the core principle of equality, and include comprehensive discussion and meaningful input by indigenous peoples,” they said.
The Constitutional Court in 2022 ruled that the government’s denial of the existence of Siraya and other Pingpu groups was unconstitutional, and they, as original inhabitants of Taiwan, should have the same status as the 16 recognized groups.
The court gave the government a three-year deadline to implement laws.
Legislators and ministries should consult with Pingpu groups and hold public hearings, before amending the relevant statutes of the Indigenous Peoples Status Act (原住民身分法) and the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law (原住民族基本法), Kaisanan Ahuan said.
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