Taiwan’s legislature on Monday began to review five new draft bills that would offer transitional justice to Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. The government recognizes 16 distinct tribes of aborigines… those tribes are considered Austronesian and are ethnically and linguistically linked to many other island peoples in places like Hawaii, the Philippines and even as far away as Madagascar. They predate Taiwan’s majority population, which is ethnic Chinese.
Cabinet Secretary General Chen Mei-ling spoke at the legislature’s judiciary committee on Monday about plans to extend Taiwan’s indigenous peoples transitional justice.
“When it comes to fairness and justice, these are the principles the government will use in dealing with indigenous issues. The new administration’s attitude will be apologetic in nature, and it will work to interpret history from an aboriginal perspective, gradually push for autonomy, promote indigenous language and culture, provide for everyday needs, and make important declarations on numerous occasions," said Chen, "For example, this year on August 1st, which is Indigenous People’s Day, President Tsai will offer an official apology on behalf of the government to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. We will also set up an Indigenous Peoples’ Transitional Justice Committee under the auspices of the Presidential Office, and set guidelines for that. Related work is already under way."
An official Cabinet report on transitional justice for Taiwan’s indigenous peoples says that the Cabinet will propose more related draft bills during the next legislative session. Those will deal with land and sea rights, and indigenous languages.