Taiwan’s indigenous peoples are the true owners of the land, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said on Friday at an event marking the 35th founding anniversary of the Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Culture Park in Pingtung County’s Majia Township (瑪家).
The event was titled “Kemasi Maza,” meaning “starting here” in the Paiwan language.
Su said he attended the opening of the park as a member of the now-defunct Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council and witnessed the righting of historical wrongs that unfolded in the nation.
Photo: CNA
Then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at the opening ceremony started the process of equality for indigenous communities when he used the term “indigenous peoples” instead of “mountain compatriots” for the first time as the nation’s leader, Su said.
The Constitution has since been amended to mandate that the term “indigenous peoples” be used for official matters, and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2016 issued an apology to indigenous people on behalf of Taiwan, he said.
Su said his daughter married into an Amis family from Taitung County and his granddaughter was only named in Amis.
Taiwan protects the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples to ensure they become the masters of their own land, and not to generate tourism revenue, he said.
Culture must be nurtured at the grassroots before it can be developed or internationalized, Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod told the event.
Icyang said he was initially opposed to the cultural park over fears that it might serve to commercialize and stereotype indigenous cultures, adding that establishing a park for indigenous peoples without protecting their linguistic rights was particularly problematic for him at the time.
However, his fears were alleviated after the Tsai administration implemented the Indigenous Languages Development Act (原住民族語言發展法), which affirmed the right of indigenous Taiwanese to use their native languages, he said.
In January, the Executive Yuan established the national languages development forum with Su at the helm, Icyang said.
The Cabinet announced a NT$30 billion (US$976.9 million) budget covering the next five years to preserve indigenous languages and increased the council’s budget from NT$500,000 million to NT$1.3 billion, he said.
A plan to renovate the park is also being put into motion that would improve the facilities and fund the reconstruction of 25 traditional-style structures on campus, thanks to special budgets approved by the Executive Yuan in April, he added.
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