While it continues to experience a net loss of residents, Hualien County’s population of Aborigines has risen, the latest information from the Ministry of the Interior shows.
As a result, Aboriginal Hualien County councilors are demanding that the county government increase its budget and programs for Aboriginal welfare and social services.
Hualien County Civil Affairs Department Deputy Director Hsiao Ming-chia (蕭明甲) said ministry statistics show the county’s population of 323,897 as of December last year had declined from a high of of 358,981 in 1995. Due to emigration and other factors, the county’s population has decreased by 25,084 over the past 18 years, an average reduction of 1,393 people per year, he said.
The county has seen its population of Aborigines rising to 91,143, the highest ever for the county, the statistics show.
The latest data from the ministry indicated that of the 91,143 Aborigines, 35,172 are residents of mountain townships, while 55,971 are residents of lowland townships.
Aborigines now make up more than one-quarter, or 28.13 percent, of the county’s population.
“Our overall population decline is due to many reasons. These include people migrating to other cities and regions of Taiwan to seek better job opportunities and the low birth rate of our young married couples,” Hsiao said.
“The Hualien County Government is taking action to mitigate the population decline by introducing several incentive programs,” he added.
Among the programs are two mass weddings each year are sponsored by the county government, a NT$10,000 subsidy for each newborn child, free tuition for children aged four and over at public kindergartens, tuition vouchers for children attending private kindergartens, free tuition for elementary school and junior-high school and subsidies for students’ school lunches, Hsiao said.
“We hope these programs can boost the birth rate of Hualien County residents and halt the negative population growth trend,” he said.
Hualien County Councilor Tibus Yilay, an Amis Aborigine, said the increase in the Aborigine population was welcome.
“It enhances the proportion and total number of Aborigine residents in our county. However, the current government policies for Aborigines’ welfare and social services remain insufficient,” she said.
“Many Aborigines cannot find jobs, or have low incomes. They are an underprivileged group in society that needs support,” she said, adding that she will cooperate with other Hualien County councilors to improve rights protection and social welfare services for Aboriginal residents of the county to improve their living conditions in accordance with the rise in population.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we