The special draft bill on land restoration and conservation (國土復育特別條例) should be recalled by the Executive Yuan so that it can be revised with more detailed practical solutions, Aboriginal legislators and officials said yesterday.
"Issues of tribal relocation, sustainable development and road repair concern indigenous peoples the most. The draft is moving in the right direction, but it needs to address these concerns in greater detail," Council of Indigenous Peoples Vice Chairman Pasuya Poitsonu (浦忠成) said at a forum held by the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP's) Ethnic Affairs Department.
Newly-elected DPP Legislator Dungi (
Theoretical
"The draft is basically theoretical and ignores Aboriginal peoples' voice on the matter. Besides, I think the government should carry out the National Land Development Plan (
DPP Legislator Chen Hsiu-hui (
"Land restoration and conservation should be a national issue, not the sole responsibility of Aboriginal peoples. If the government really wants the draft to benefit indigenous peoples, it can approve various budgets, such as for a forest protection fund, to assist them with practical sustainable development plans," Chen said.
Chang Ching-sen (
However, including Aboriginal peoples in the decision-making process has its difficulties, Chang said.
Devastation
"The draft is an urgent solution to the severe devastation caused by natural disasters following the 921 Earthquake. It would be time-consuming if we have to seek agreements from every tribe before making a decision," Chang said.
Pasuya suggested that Aborigines should form an independent legislative body. Through a single and representative system, Aborigines will be able to communicate with the government and express their concerns more effectively.
The Executive Yuan last month approved the special draft bill on land restoration and conservation, which proposes classifying the nation's mountainous areas into three conservation zones.
Category one areas are those higher than 1,500m, where farming, logging and land development will be banned, with the exception of Aboriginal villages consisting of more than 30 households.
Category two would cover mountainous areas between 500m and 1,500m. New farming or new developments will be banned, but existing legal operators will be allowed to remain.
Category three includes mountainous areas lower than 500m, in which any land developments are to reviewed regularly. Development in these areas also requires permission from the central government.
The draft also recommends spending NT$100 billion over the next 10 years on land restoration projects.
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have