Plains aborigines propose Cabinet-level recognition (fwd)

Thu Sep 23 17:12:06 UTC 2004

Published on TaipeiTimes
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/09/23/2003203987

Plains aborigines propose Cabinet-level recognition

PETITION:  Members of the 10 `pingpu' tribes yesterday called for
formation of a committee under the Cabinet to help preserve their
heritage
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Sep 23, 2004,Page 4

The 10 pingpu (??) Aboriginal tribes yesterday launched a signature
drive to petition for the establishment of a pingpu Aboriginal tribe
committee under the Executive Yuan to preserve their languages and
heritage.

"Our ancestors came to this island about 4,000 years ago, about 3,600 to
3,800 years earlier than the Han and Hakka people," said Stephen Pan
(???) of the Babuza tribe from Miaoli County. "Although we're a
minority group, it's unfair that the government totally ignores our
existence."

Restructuring

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Tsai Huang-liang (???) said
he supported the tribes' cause and would help push for the passage of
the law to establish the committee in the legislature.

"While the Executive Yuan is trying to streamline itself from the
current 36 entities down to 22, I thought it'd be a better idea to
establish the committee under the proposed culture and sports ministry
instead of as a new commission," he told the Taipei Times.

Chanting "pingpu people are the mother of Taiwanese people" and "we want
to live here forever," about 20 pingpu Aborigines gathered in downtown
Taipei yesterday afternoon to call on the Executive Yuan and
Legislative Yuan to support their cause.

The Chinese immigrants used the terms pingpu fan (???), or "savages on
the plain," to describe the lowland Aborigines and kaoshan fan (???) to
describe the indigenous people living in mountain areas.

Unlike the kaoshan Aborigines, whose livelihood depended on hunting, the
pingpu Aborigines are described in historical documents as fishermen,
with few agricultural skills.

Over the centuries, the pingpu interbred with Han Chinese and most of
their language and customs have been lost.

Like the kaoshan Aborigines' 10 sub-tribes -- all of which have already
been recognized as official tribes -- the pingpu people also consist of
10 sub-tribes.

The 10 recognized kaoshan Aboriginal tribes are the Atayal, Saisiyat,
Bunun, Tsou, Paiwan, Rukai, Puyuma, Amis, Tao and Thao. The 10 pingpu
tribes are the Kavalan, Siraya, Makatao, Hoanya, Babuza, Kakabu, Pazeh,
Papora, Ketagalan and Taokas.

Recognition

In 2001, the DPP-led government recognized the Thao (?) of Sun Moon Lake
in Nantou County as the nation's 10th official tribe, and in 2002 it
recognized the Kavalan (???), an assimilated plains tribe, as the 11th.

The Truku (???) people of Hualien County were recognized as the nation's
12th indigenous tribe in January this year following a controversial,
decade-long effort by activist Pan Wen-kuei (???) of the Makatao tribe
from Pingtung County. Pan said that if the DPP government really means
what it says about "localization," it should make efforts to establish
the pingpu Aboriginal tribe committee.

"The government should face the issue fair and square," he said. "I'm
afraid if we don't do it now, it'll be too late."