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.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS