President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was noncommittal yesterday on the issue of Aboriginal autonomy, saying it was difficult in reality and that he did not want to make a promise he could not keep.
Addressing the National Assembly of Aboriginal Peoples and Groups held by the Council of Indigenous Peoples, Ma said the Aborigines were the earliest settlers of Taiwan and had played a significant role in its history.
There are about 490,000 Aborigines in Taiwan, Ma said, adding that many anthropologists contend that they are the ancestors of the Austronesian peoples, a population in Oceania and Southeast Asia that speaks languages of the Austronesian family.
While reiterating the principles of his Aboriginal policy, which include respect for diversity, justice, fairness and promoting the autonomy and independent development of Indigenous peoples, Ma declined to commit to Aboriginal autonomy.
He instead repeated his promise to grant Aboriginal autonomy “on a trial basis.”
He emphasized that he did not want to “write blank checks” and he made promises only if he could keep them.
“I know Indigenous people want to govern themselves as soon as possible, but in reality there are many difficulties,” he said. “Many conditions must be created, but in the meantime we can establish Aboriginal autonomous regions on a trial basis so Indigenous people can enjoy autonomy in certain areas.”
On disaster prevention in mountainous areas, Ma said his administration would respect the right of Aborigines to live in mountain areas and would not force them to relocate unless a village reached a consensus to do so.
However, the government would enforce compulsory emergency evacuations should rainfall reach dangerous levels, he said.
The legislature passed the Aboriginal Basic Act (原住民族基本法) under former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and it came into force in 2005. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-controlled legislature, however, has yet to approve the act governing the autonomous region of Indigenous peoples.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS