President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday pushed for improvement in indigenous people’s rights to align with global standards, and called on society to respect and learn more from indigenous peoples.
The president was speaking at the opening of this year’s Indigenous Rights Forum held to mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Indigenous rights are deeply connected to the concept of human rights — from the ratification of the UN’s two covenants on human rights to the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Taiwanese government’s promulgation of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法), Tsai said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“These steps to improve human rights also go toward endorsing and safeguarding the rights of indigenous peoples to their land, language, culture and their group identity,” Tsai told the forum, which was organized by the National Human Rights Commission and the Council of Indigenous Peoples.
She added that six years ago, the Presidential Office set up the Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee, and two years ago, the Control Yuan launched the National Human Rights Commission to promote transitional justice for indigenous peoples.
Aside from implementing policies for indigenous peoples and protecting their rights, the government is working more to make them “more mainstream” in society, she said.
Resources and mechanisms are now in place to have government meetings hold simultaneous interpretations of indigenous languages, she said.
“The government supports indigenous peoples’ rights to promote their culture, and has established television and radio networks for indigenous peoples,” she said, adding that she has noticed that many young indigenous people are active on YouTube and Instagram, and many have podcasts.
“We wish to see that each year’s August 1 is not just for indigenous peoples, but for all people in Taiwan to mark this day,” she said.
“Our society should pay respect to and to learn from indigenous peoples,” she said.
Separately, Australian Representative to Taiwan Jenny Bloomfield also marked the occasion with a video post on the Facebook page of the Australian Office in Taipei on Sunday.
“Australia and Taiwan have worked even closer together over recent years to strengthen exchanges between our indigenous peoples and communities,” she said in the video.
In a statement yesterday, she said that “indigenous cultures, languages, histories and traditions are a vital part of who we are — and they form a special bond between Australia and Taiwan.”
“Today, we are proud to join with you as you celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples. We will continue to work together to promote opportunities for Indigenous peoples everywhere; to ensure that the rights and traditions of Indigenous peoples are respected; and that all Indigenous peoples are full participants and beneficiaries of a free, open and fairer world,” it said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
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
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS