President Tsai Ing-wen has issued a formal apology to Taiwan’s indigenous peoples on behalf of the government.
Tsai was speaking at a ceremony on August 1, marking the day that the derogatory term “mountain people” was abolished in favor of the term “aborigines” in 1994.
"I want to issue our deepest apology to all indigenous peoples for the sufferings and unfair treatment they have endured over the past 400 years. On behalf of the government, I want to apologize to you all," Tsai said.
Tsai said that Taiwan’s aborigines are early inhabitants with their own languages, cultures, customs and places to live. However, she said they have been exploited, displaced, marginalized and deprived of their rights by later settlers, including their rights to autonomy and self-determination.
Tsai said thatevery government that has controlled Taiwan in the past has trampled aborigines’ rights and that history has been written from the perspective of the dominant Han Chinese ethnic group. Tsai cited examples of previous governments’ half-hearted interest in the preservation of aboriginal culture, and the dumping of nuclear waste on Lanyu, an off-shore island home to the Tao tribe as examples of past wrongs.
Tsai acknowledged there is a gap between aborigines and non-aborigines in health, education, social well-being, and political participation, and that discrimination against aborigines still exist. She offered a heartfelt apology.
"[Because] we did not work hard enough and we didn’t realize that we had not worked hard enough over the past few generations, the hardships that you have endured have continued until now. I am truly sorry," Tsai said.
Tsai said the apology is only the beginning of reconciliation in Taiwan, though she does not expect indigenous people to forgive the government so soon. The president called on the public to maintain a spirit of hope and to ensure that the mistakes of history are not repeated.