Aboriginals call on ROC presidential candidates for new deal

By June Tsai 

The Indigenous Peoples Action Coalition Taiwan presented the three ROC presidential candidates with petitions Dec. 9 requesting they commit to negotiating a new partnership with the island’s aboriginals.

“In the first televised debate, none of the candidates said anything about issues concerning Taiwan’s indigenous peoples,” a coalition representative said. “We need them to clarify their positions.”

ROC President and Kuomintang Chairman Ma Ying-jeou, opposition Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen and People First Party Chairman James Song have also been invited to back the initiative at a signing event, the representative said.

Scheduled for Dec. 14, the function will be attended by members of Taiwan’s 14 officially recognized indigenous groups.

In addition to signing the agreements and reconfirming the U.N. conventions on economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights at the event, the coalition wants candidates to publicly apologize for the treatment of aboriginals.

“We need them to also promise to realize the basic act, convene a committee on improving the self-rule bill, and implement policies offering dignity and opportunities rather than creating a vicious cycle of welfare handouts.”

Oto Micyang, president of the Taiwan indigenous Peoples’ Policies Association, said a consultative approach was first adopted by former President Chen Shui-bian, who inked a new partnership pact with aboriginals when running for office in 1999. The agreement became the keystone of his administration’s aboriginal policies, and the basis for the 2005 Indigenous Peoples Basic Act.

“Over the years, our goal of equal status and self rule has not been realized either under the DPP or KMT governments,” Micyang said. “Land grabs, gaffes and all manner of outrages continue to take place—it is time for Taiwan to write a new chapter and make a real change.”

This article first appeared in online Taiwan Today Dec. 12, 2011.