President Tsai visits indigenous tribe on Orchid Island

2016/08/17

President Tsai Ing-wen paid her second visit after taking office in May to Lanyu, also known as Orchid Island, off the shores of southeastern Taiwan Aug. 15 following her apology earlier this month for the government’s past treatment of indigenous peoples.

The president held talks with local representatives on several issues at Lanyu Township Office of Taitung County, notably nuclear waste storage on the islet, home to the indigenous Yami people, also known as the Tao. “This is a situation the central and local governments as well as Lanyu locals must face and solve together,” the president said, adding that the state-owned Taiwan Power Co., the Ministry of Economic Affairs and related sectors will work together to address the issue in stages.

Tsai pledged to establish a task force to investigate the decision-making process behind the choice of Lanyu as a nuclear storage site, create a mechanism for financially compensating inhabitants on the islet, and better manage Taiwan’s nuclear waste storage in the future.

Another issue touched on during the discussions was the autonomous rule of Lanyu by the indigenous residents. Tsai said measures for regulating the organization of tribes into public entities, which are a type of local government, will be implemented in September. The Cabinet-level Council of Indigenous Peoples will assist six Yami villages on Lanyu in achieving this legal distinction, setting the foundations of indigenous autonomy.

The president also expressed her concerns about the inadequate infrastructure on Lanyu and directed related government agencies to address such issues as road widening and maintenance and improvement of telecommunications facilities.

According to the CIP, Taiwan has been home to indigenous Malayo-Polynesian people for millennia, as archeological evidence shows their presence dates back 12,000 to 15,000 years. Today, there are 16 officially recognized tribes in Taiwan, with a population of around 530,000, or 2.3 percent of the nation’s total.

The Yami are the only indigenous people in Taiwan that depend primarily on the ocean for their livelihoods. The number of Yami people, who reside almost exclusively on Lanyu, stands at around 4,500.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=247038&ctNode=2194&mp=9)