Aboriginal lawmakers yesterday called for the redrawing of Aboriginal electoral districts to better reflect regional differences and ethnic diversity.
“Aboriginal voters elect three mountains Aboriginal lawmakers and three plains Aboriginal lawmakers, who represent all Aborigines across the country,” said People First Party Legislator Lin Cheng-er (林正二) of the Amis tribe, during an Internal Administration Committee meeting yesterday morning.
Under the system, six Aboriginal legislators represent all 500,000 Aborigines nationwide.
“So, when we run for legislative seats, it’s like running for the presidency, because our electoral district covers the entire country,” Lin said.
Such a large “electoral district” makes it difficult not only for candidates to campaign, but also to serve their constituents once elected.
“Maybe the Aboriginal electoral district could be cut into half, with one northern district and one southern district, both covering about nine to 11 counties and cities,” he said.
Lin said that among the three plains Aboriginal seats, one should be reserved for a non-Amis representative, since the Amis is the most populous plains Aboriginal tribe, and usually occupy all plains Aboriginal seats in the legislature.
“With more than 180,000 people — or two-thirds of all plains Aborigines — it’s often we Amis who occupy plains Aboriginal seats,” he said. “It’s not very fair to non-Amis tribes.”
In the legislative election in January, “all 10 plains Aboriginal candidates were Amis, because politicians from other plains Aboriginal tribes knew they would not get elected and thus gave up running,” he said.
Under the current electoral system, Aboriginal voters are divided into “mountains Aborigines” and “plains Aborigines,” and each category elects three representatives.
Although the term “mountains Aborigines” refers mainly to Aboriginal tribes living in the mountains, while “plains Aborigines” refers mainly to tribes living on the plains, the description is not entirely accurate, since the definition was based more on some complicated historical reasons.
Mountains Aboriginal tribes include the Atayal, Sediq, Truku, Bunun, Tsou, Paiwan, Rukai and Saisiyat in Miaoli County’s Nanjhuang Township (南庄) — also known as “southern Saisiyat” — and Tao, who live on Lanyu (蘭嶼), or Orchid Island, in the Pacific.
Plains Aboriginal tribes include the Amis, Sakizaya, Kavalan, Thao, Puyuma and Saisiyat in Hsinchu County’s Wufeng Township (五峰), also known as “northern Saisiyat.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chien Tung-ming (簡東明) of the Paiwan tribe agreed on the need to redraw Aboriginal electoral districts, but said dividing Aboriginal electoral districts into three — northern, central and southern — was more appropriate.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) and Central Election Commission Vice Chairman Liu I-chou (劉義周) both said that they would consider the suggestions.
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
RSS