Siraya update

[Chun Jimmy Huang]

Friends and colleague on RNLD,

I don't know if this is related to the petition and the scheduled 
street demonstration on May 2nd, but it may be, because all street 
demonstration in Taiwan needs to be registered first.

So as I mentioned in the petition 
(http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Siraya-reclamation), Siraya is 
but one of the 11 indigenous peoples in Taiwan that have not been 
officially recognized by the central government (under KMT, or the 
Chinese Nationalist Party). But the fact is that the local 
government of Tainan County, which is the Siraya homeland, under 
the localist Democratic Progressive Party, has since earlier this 
year invited Siraya individuals to register as "aborigine."

Unfortunately, just yesterday (April 21st) the Center of 
Indigenous Affairs sent an order to Tainan County government 
saying that it is illegal to register Siraya. Besides, the central 
government ordered to delete the "other" category on identity 
registration (the dominant Han people are default and needs no 
category; the 14 officially recognized peoples each has an ethnic 
category; the 11 unrecognized peoples WERE all lumped into 
"other"). So now even in their/our homeland the Siraya people have 
become illegal and non-existent.

Still, the petition continues and the demonstration will take 
place as planned.


Chun (Jimmy) Huang
PhD candidate,
Linguistics, University of Florida
Linguistic consultant,
Tainan Pingpu Siraya Culture Association