The Cabinet has approved a bill on developing the use of Taiwan’s indigenous languages.
The bill, approved Thursday, states that signs in the indigenous languages should be installed at public facilities and government agencies in indigenous areas.
Cabinet Spokesman Sun Lih-chyun spoke on behalf of Premier Mao Chi-kuo about the purpose of the draft bill.
"The premier specifically stated that indigenous languages have experienced serious erosion amid social changes in Taiwan," Sun said. "According to a UNESCO report, nine of Taiwan’s indigenous languages are endangered languages. The Council of Indigenous Peoples has drafted this bill to protect these aboriginal languages."
The bill also states that there should be accreditation tests for aboriginal language proficiency, policies for training teachers of the languages, compiling of teaching materials and collecting of data on aboriginal languages.