Aboriginal rights activists yesterday rallied on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei, calling for changes to place names in Aboriginal regions across the country from the current government-imposed names that hold political connotations.
Dozens of activists yesterday rallied on the road in front of the Presidential Office Building, protesting the government’s naming of places such as Guangfu Township (光復) in Hualien County and Fusing Township (復興) in Taoyuan County.
The term guangfu literally means “restoration of Taiwan,” referring to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime’s takeover of the country after the Japanese surrendered in 1945, while the term fusing means “revival of the nation,” referring to the KMT regime’s goal to reclaim the mainland.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
In addition, Renai (仁愛) and Sinyi (信義) townships in Nantou County mean “benevolence” and “fidelity and honesty” respectively, while Heping District (和平) in Taichung means “peace.”
“There are 55 Aboriginal townships around the country, but during 30 years of the Aboriginal rights movement, only the former Wufeng Township (吳鳳) in Chiayi County and the former Sanmin Township (三民) in former Kaohsiung County have been successfully renamed — Alishan and Namasiya — so far,” said Yapasuyongu Akuyana, a Tsou Aborigine representing the Indigenous Peoples’ Action Coalition of Taiwan, addressing demonstrators and the media. “As more and more tribal elders who still clearly remember the original Aboriginal place names are leaving us, those names will eventually be forgotten if we don’t stand up to demand the change now.”
“Wufeng” is the name of a historic figure who is said to have sacrificed his own life to “correct” the headhunt custom of Tsou Aborigines, while “sanmin” refers to the Three Principles of the People coined by Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙).
Lin Shih-wei (林世偉), an Atayal artist from Jianshi Township (尖石), Hsinchu County, burst into tears while saying that the government has not only taken their lands, but also changed the names, forcing them into exile on their own lands.
“I am especially heartbroken that, despite our invitations, none of the Aboriginal lawmakers showed up in the rally,” he said.
Earlier in the week, a group of young Amis Aborigines from Tafalong and Fata’an villages in Guangfu protested the township’s name by painting the two villages’ names and the question “whose restoration is it?” on the walls of the Guangfu Township Office.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
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STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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