The launch in Taiwan of Asia's first Aboriginal Television channel cements Aboriginal access to the media and advances the rights of Taiwan's indigenous people, President Chen Shui-bian (
Addressing the launch ceremony of the Indigenous Television Network (ITV), Chen said he had high hopes that the station would communicate the diversity of Taiwan's 12 Aboriginal tribes to the public and pass down the nation's indigenous cultural heritage to young Aborigines.
"Now that the camera and the microphone have been handed to the indigenous peoples, we expect ITV to seize this opportunity to disseminate minority viewpoints and their distinctive cultures and languages," Chen said.
PHOTO: TAI TA-HSIANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Thanks to five years of effort by the government, the media industry and Aboriginal-rights advocates, the launch of ITV yesterday followed a six-month trial broadcast that started last December.
Performances of traditional song and dance by renowned Aboriginal artists featured throughout the launch, which was held in front of the Taiwan Television Station (TTV), the parent network responsible for operation of the channel.
After delivering his speech, Chen pressed a button with Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) Chairman Walis Pelin and Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao (姚文智) to symbolize the start of the TV station's operations.
ITV promises to present programs showcasing Aboriginal culture and which move beyond stereotyped images portrayed in the media to date.
Taiwan's 460,000 indigenous people are expected to have access to ITV via satellite and other receivers, even in remote mountainous and coastal areas, according to GIO officials.
Some Aboriginal advocates, however, continued to express concerns over poor reception in some communities and an excessive number of commercials.
They criticized TTV's use of commercials on the Hakka television channel, which has been operated by TTV since July 2003, and said they feared ITV would receive the same treatment.
"For example, the program hosts often refer to Aborigines as `they,' as if we were some foreign creature from another world," said Voyu (
Sylvia Feng (
In addition to representing Aboriginal groups, Feng said, this would help train new talent and further reduce unemployment in the Aboriginal population.
The Aboriginal Education Law (
However, the plan stalled in 2003 over concerns in the Legislative Yuan that a large number of Aborigines would not be able to receive the channel because of the poor reception in mountainous areas.
The legislature eventually passed the NT$300 million (US$9.5 million) budget last year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military