Taiwan, Palau sign agreement on indigenous cultural exchanges

2019/03/26

An agreement on expanding indigenous cultural exchanges was inked March 23 by Taiwan and Palau, underscoring the allies’ commitment to deepening bilateral ties through exploration of their shared Austronesian heritage.
 
 The 10-year cooperation pact was concluded between the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Development Center under the Cabinet-level Council of Indigenous Peoples and Palau’s Belau National Museum. Under the deal, the two sides will strengthen collaboration in areas spanning academic research, cultural performances, exhibitions and traditional dance and music preservation.
 
 IPCDC Director General Tseng Chih-yung and BNM Director Olympia E. Morei-Remengesau inked the pact during a ceremony at the museum in Koror state. CIP Minister Icyang Parod and Palau Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs Baklai Temengil-Chilton witnessed the signing.
 
 Icyang and Tseng were in country for President Tsai Ing-wen’s Oceans of Democracy state visit. Her eight-day tour of Pacific allies also includes stops in Nauru and Marshall Islands.
 
 According to the CIP, the decadelong agreement aims to build on a successful five-year memorandum of understanding on cultural exchanges inked by IPCDC and BNM in 2010. Results of the previous accord include research on Palauan clay pottery practices and taro, a traditional food in the Pacific nation.
 
 Icyang said that the indigenous tribes of Taiwan and Palau are Austronesian-speaking peoples and enjoy a shared linguistic heritage. The new agreement is expected to enhance bilateral exchanges on these links and related cultural development, he added.
 
 In addition to the signing ceremony, the CIP took the opportunity to update the exhibition at BNM on Taiwan’s aboriginal peoples. Later the same day, Tsai visited the new display, which features clay pots, woodcarvings and woven fabrics to shed light on the arts, cultures and traditional crafts of the nation’s 16 officially recognized tribes.
 
 Indigenous peoples have lived in Taiwan for millenniums. The latest CIP statistics revealed that the total aboriginal population stands at around 560,000, or 2.3 percent of the total 23.5 million.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)