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Ma still snubs marginalized group
By Jason Pan 潘紀揚
Tuesday, Mar 30, 2010, Page 8
On his diplomatic tour of allied Pacific island nations, President Ma Ying-Jeou
(馬英九) focused on the connection between the Aboriginal peoples of Taiwan and his
hosts. In particular, Ma and his top government officials emphasized the close
cultural affinities and historical links between Taiwan’s Aboriginal groups and
the native cultures of the South Pacific island nations — as they both belong to
the ethno-linguistic family known as Austronesian.
Ma and his entourage donned colorful Aboriginal costumes on the tour and brought
with them a company of Aboriginal dancers to perform in the cultural
entertainment programs. Seizing the opportunity, Ma and top government officials
said that the government should make more use of Aboriginal peoples in these
foreign affairs initiatives and outlined ways of doing more with “diplomacy
through indigenous cultural exchange.”
Ma also said the government had taken good care of Aboriginal peoples, outlining
the many benevolent policies and social assistance programs by the Council of
Indigenous Peoples.
All these are nice statements for a slick public relations campaign. However,
they are falsehoods. It is like a paid advertisement to make the Ma
administration and the council look good in their conduct of international
affairs and Aboriginal policies. The reality is very different.
The public relations initiative on Aboriginal policy is a cover-up used to
mislead the world on what’s actually going on here. We must point out Taiwan’s
shameful record in denying the existence of the lowland Pingpu Aboriginal people
and their struggle for survival. The government is treating them like pariahs,
with an official policy of denial and racial discrimination, while doing its
best to obliterate their culture.
Having actively fought for their recognition for more than two decades, the
Pingpu are still not recognized. Despite being an Austronesian people native to
Taiwan, they have no ethnic group status (unlike the other ethnic minorities and
the 14 official Aboriginal tribes in Taiwan). They have no recognition and no
basic Aboriginal rights.
Because the government and the council do not recognize them, shutting the door
for all social, educational, health, economic and cultural programs, the Pingpu
receive no support in Taiwan, while they are trying desperately to save their
dying culture, their languages and their valuable traditional knowledge.
The Pingpu have to face official discrimination and neglect, and are thus being
pushed toward extinction. Mainly living in rural villages engaged in traditional
agriculture or manual labor, they are the most marginalized class at the bottom
rung of society.
In short, they are the forgotten people of Taiwan.
In his public relations campaigns, Ma and his bureaucrats have spoken at length
about the wonderful programs the council has coordinated and how it takes care
of “all” Aboriginal peoples of Taiwan, how Taiwanese live in an open, democratic
society that is proud of its ethnic diversity and harmonious relationship
between all the races, and how the government is upholding international
conventions on human rights and the rights of Aboriginal peoples.
We have heard such talk at international meetings and at UN forums (including
meetings of Asian Aboriginal peoples and the UN Permanent Forum in Indigenous
Issues) by officials and Aboriginal delegates who are sent by the council,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies.
But it is all double-talk to deceive the world. It is a hypocritical and
shameful deception, a big lie. The activist movement of Taiwan’s forgotten
people to gain recognition has gone on for more than two decades, but the
response from government has always been: “Go away. We don’t care about you
people.”
Government officials and their Aboriginal delegations always portray Taiwanese
ethnic minorities as being taken care of and enjoying many rights, highlighting
Taiwan as a progressive and enlightened place in terms of Aboriginal policy. But
this is well-funded government public hype. They never mention that the
forgotten people are excluded. They would never mention the denial and racist
discrimination against the Pingpu and their desperate struggle for survival.
Contrary to what the government tells the world about its “benevolent”
Aboriginal policies, it has continued to treat the Pingpu with disdain and
arrogance. It is as though they are living in the colonial era, and that the
local savage Aboriginal people must be suppressed and denied recognition.
The Pingpu face extinction, barely clinging to existence as an ethno-cultural
community. They have suffered from centuries of colonial conquest, overwhelming
mainstream assimilation and policies meant to wipe out their culture and
language by successive governments.
With no recognition and no ethnic status, they suffered equally under Democratic
Progressive Party and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule. They are a vital
part of Taiwan’s history and a main component of its ethno-cultural makeup.
Instead of doing something to save a dying ethnic minority, however, the
government has taken the approach of denial and purposeful neglect.
On May 2 last year, more than 3,000 Pingpu from all regions of Taiwan gathered
in Taipei City to demand recognition and inclusion by the government and the
council. It was the biggest-ever rally by these forgotten people of Taiwan,
culminating the many years of organized activist movement struggle, protest
rallies, petitions and public hearings.
However, the government rejected them. The council even released a statement
saying the Pingpu “are not qualified to be Aboriginal peoples,” demonstrating a
racist attitude in stating that the Pingpu were like “beggars who are chasing
away the temple master.”
It was an attempt to manipulate public opinion against the Pingpu, portraying
them as having an agenda to take over the council, when in fact they are only
asking for inclusion and rescue from cultural extinction.
Rejecting their request and comparing the forgotten people of Taiwan to beggars
showed habitual disdain and discrimination by government officials.
Following the rally in May, more protests and public hearings were held.
However, there was no change in policy. The council (an agency set up to look
after the rights and welfare of Aboriginal peoples and follow the Aboriginal
Basic Act (原住民族基本法) and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)
and government still rejected their appeal and continued to exclude the Pingpu.
The government even rushed to implement rules (for central, municipal and local
department agencies) to prevent any registration of the Pingpu, thus forbidding
registration of their ethnic status.
Once again, the forgotten people were marginalized. With this kind of policy of
denial and exclusion, it is straight-forward to announce the death sentence of
the Pingpu. Their ancestral language and culture face certain death.
Yet the government and council officials (most of whom are Aborigine) do nothing
about this tragedy — the extinction of brothers and sisters from their same
Austronesian family. Is there any humanity left in their callous and coldblooded
hearts?
Today, racial discrimination and exclusion is a disgrace to the government. It
is a cruel, merciless drive toward cultural extinction, the killing off of these
original inhabitants of Taiwan.
This policy of discrimination and extermination of a marginalized ethnic
minority must be brought to light and condemned by all Aboriginal peoples. What
the government is doing is violating the articles of the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Denial and racial discrimination agianst the Pingpu are the biggest issues
facing the Ma government and the council in their Aboriginal policies.
It is an egregious social injustice against a powerless and marginalized ethnic
minority for this supposedly “democratic society” that upholds human rights and
the rights of Aboriginal peoples.
The Pingpu feel rejecting their recognition is a crime against humanity, as it
pushed them toward extinction.
As a speaker for Pingpu, I am asking all Taiwanese with a good understanding of
history and a sense of social justice to help in our desperate struggle. We also
ask the international community to support us and join us in demanding inclusion
and recognition of the Pingpu.
Jason Pan, from the Pingpu Pazeh Aboriginal community, is
director of TARA-Pingpu and chairperson of the Taiwan Indigenous Knowledge
Action Network.
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