Atayal are temporarily permitted to practice traditional fishing at Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) starting from Wednesday, following a pause on a ban that began more than 60 years ago.
Water Resource Agency Northern Region Water Resources Office Deputy Director-General Kuo Yao-cheng (郭耀程) said the office is holding a one-month trial to facilitate the continuation of indigenous traditions, as long they do not affect water quality.
The office conditionally approved Atayal to use a portion of the reservoir for ancestral ceremonies under the Regulations Managing the Hunting and Capture of Fishery during Indigenous Ceremonies in the Area of the Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫蓄水範圍原住民祭儀期間獵捕魚類管理要點), passed on May 28.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
Atayal may fish in the area from Shihsiouping (石秀坪) in the upstream section of Dahan River (大漢溪) to the mouth of the river on the left bank of the reservoir, Kuo said.
The list of people permitted to fish would be reviewed once a year, he said, adding that only fishing rods would be permitted, limited to one rod per fisher.
The office is to review the results of the trial in June next year to assess the timing and method of how to open the area to the public, he said.
Taoyuan Fusing District (復興) Office Director Su Tsuo-hsi (蘇佐璽) said the office was glad to see a historic breakthrough on the issue.
It collaborated with the Taoyuan Department of Indigenous Affairs to organize an immersive experience event centered on traditional Atayal fishing rituals at Kuei Huei Pier, which opened on Wednesday with a ceremony presided over by community elders.
“We hope that all villagers and visitors will experience fishing, which symbolizes coexistence with nature, and embodies the cultural wisdom of when and how to catch fish,” Su said.
Taoyuan City Councilor Su Wen-en (蘇偉恩) said Atayal used to live off the mountains and rivers, but were either driven off or punished with fines, preventing them from fishing on their ancestral land.
He said village residents in the six regions allowed to fish within the Shihmen Reservoir were overjoyed to know that they would be able to pass on Atayal fishing traditions.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is suspending retaliation measures against South Korea that were set to take effect tomorrow, after Seoul said it is updating its e-arrival system, MOFA said today. The measures were to be a new round of retaliation after Taiwan on March 1 changed South Korea's designation on government-issued alien resident certificates held by South Korean nationals to "South Korea” from the "Republic of Korea," the country’s official name. The move came after months of protests to Seoul over its listing of Taiwan as "China (Taiwan)" in dropdown menus on its new online immigration entry system. MOFA last week
RSS