The Council of Grand Justices yesterday ruled that some hunting restrictions on Aborigines were unconstitutional, but stopped short of supporting a total overhaul of regulations, which some hunting advocates had called for.
Hunting restrictions have become a contentious issue among Aboriginal communities.
Under current regulations, Aboriginal communities are only allowed to hunt with self-made shotguns during certain festivals and only with prior approval from authorities.
Photo: Tung Chen-kuo, Taipei Times
Advocates say the self-made firearms are dangerous and that restrictions impede on the subsistence hunting traditions their communities have practiced for centuries.
In Constitutional Interpretation No. 803, the grand justices found portions of the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) and the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) unconstitutional.
Although the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act specifies the kind of guns and munitions Aborigines can make, it contravenes the Constitution’s protection of Aborigine’s and their way of life, as the regulations do not consider the safety of those making the guns, the grand justices found.
Photo: CNA
The National Police Agency must amend the act to make it compliant with the Constitution within two years, the council said.
Under the act, Aborigines cannot manufacture, transport or own self-made shotguns or harpoons for making a living without a permit.
The interpretation said that the Constitution protects the traditional cultures of Aboriginal communities, but this protection is predicated on the basis that these are not used for commercial purposes.
However, the Wildlife Conservation Act does not protect Aborigines’ right to hunt protected species, the interpretation said.
A requirement that Aborigines apply to hunt five days in advance, with a ban on unplanned hunting, was unreasonably rigid and unconstitutional, in contravention of the principle of proportionality, it said.
Under the rules, Aborigines must specify the animals they would hunt and how many they would kill in an application, which the interpretation also found unconstitutional.
The ruling followed the 2015 conviction of Tama Talum, a Bunun hunter charged with killing two animals from protected species with a modified shotgun in 2013.
Talum was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, a verdict that caused outrage within Aboriginal communities and sparked a long-running legal battle over the acts.
Talum said he was following tribal customs and was hunting the animals to feed his mother.
The case was in 2017 appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the conviction and sentence, but also asked the Council of Grand Justices to review hunting regulations.
Talum called the council’s constitutional interpretation “regrettable” and said he would continue to hunt.
The ruling yesterday does not affect Talum’s case, which is to resume at the Supreme Court.
Hsieh Meng-yu (謝孟羽), a lawyer with the Legal Aid Foundation, said the ruling went “90 percent” against Talum.
However, it was the first time a court has recognized that Aboriginal hunting was “a cultural right that should be respected and protected by the state,” Hsieh said.
The foundation would push for a suspended sentence for Talum, Hsieh added.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS