Name and status restoration activists of the Pingpu (平埔) — also known as plains Aborigines — yesterday visited the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) and urged it to give them a hand in their campaign.
The council, however, did not give a positive response.
“We, members of the Pingpu tribes, would like to invite [CIP] Minister Chang Jen-hsiang [章仁香] to attend the public hearing on restoration of Pingpu tribal names and Aboriginal status,” Siraya Culture Association chairwoman Wan Shu-chuan (萬淑娟) said as she handed the invitation to CIP Planning Department Director Wang Chiu-i (汪秋一), who accepted it on Chang’s behalf.
The Siraya are a Pingpu tribe that live in parts of Tainan and Chiayi counties.
Pingpu refers to assimilated Aborigine tribes that dwell on the plans, who once lived throughout the flat areas of the country from Keelung all the way to Pingtung before Han migrants from China and colonial powers arrived in Taiwan.
It’s not easy to find Pingpu today, since most have been culturally assimilated into Han society through intermarriage or were forced to change their identities.
Most Pingpu tribes also lost their status as Aborigines in official records once the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime took over Taiwan after World War II.
Despite their tragic past, some Pingpu still remember their identity and have been struggling for restoration of their tribal names and Aboriginal status for about 20 years.
“We would like the CIP to give us a hand in our campaign,” Wan told Wang.
Wang’s response disappointed Wan and other activists.
Wang promised that the CIP would send someone to today’s public hearing, but added that it wasn’t likely that the CIP could do anything to help restore Aboriginal status to the Pingpu unless changes were made to the Aboriginal Identity Act (原住民身份法). “For that, we fully respect legislative power,” he said.
The law states that only people whose parents are registered in the household registration records as Aborigine may be conferred Aboriginal status.
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
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
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
RSS