Sovereignty key issue for voters: poll

ROOT-AND-BRANCH:In an indication that KMT rhetoric has not registered, 50.3 percent of respondents said they want the DPP to win more than half of the 113 legislative seats

By Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan Thinktank deputy executive director Lai I-chung yesterday presents the results of an opinion poll at a press conference in Taipei.

Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times

A majority of Taiwanese believe the nation’s presidential candidates should make an unequivocal statement that Taiwan is not part of China, according to a Taiwan Thinktank survey released yesterday.

The telephone-based poll — carried out on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26 among people aged 20 or older — found that 64 percent of respondents think presidential candidates should clearly state that Taiwan is not part of China.

On the cross-strait relationship, 46.6 percent of those polled said that a meeting of the leaders of Taiwan and China conducted under the framework of the so-called “1992 consensus” was unacceptable, whereas 36 percent said it was acceptable.

The “1992 consensus” refers to a supposed understanding reached during cross-strait talks in 1992 that both Taiwan and China acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what that means.

The poll showed that 41.8 percent of respondents said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would best safeguard Taiwan’s interests in cross-strait negotiations, while 23.8 percent backed Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) and 16.7 percent favored People First Party (PFP) challenger James Soong (宋楚瑜).

Despite Chu’s repeated warnings over the potential impact on the nation’s democratic path if the KMT loses its legislative majority, 50.3 percent of respondents said they wanted the DPP to win more than half of the 113 legislative seats to prevent the government from continuing to lean toward China.

The idea that a DPP-dominated legislature should counter the nation’s drift toward China is most prevalent among younger Taiwanese, the poll suggests, with 60.1 percent aged between 20 and 29 supporting such an approach.

With regard to the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, 48.2 percent of those polled said they would vote for Tsai if the ballot were held tomorrow, while 19.4 percent said they would support Chu and 11.6 percent would opt for Soong.

Asked which of the three vice presidential candidates are best placed to assist the campaigns of their running mates, 58.1 percent of respondents said Tsai’s running mate, former Academia Sinica vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁).

Ten percent opted for Chu’s running mate, former Council of Labor Affairs minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄), and 6.7 percent picked Soong’s running mate, Republic Party Chairperson Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), the survey said.

A simple majority, 32.7 percent, said they would support district legislative candidates nominated by the DPP, while 20.4 percent said they would vote for the KMT’s candidates.

Among smaller parties, the New Power Party’s (NPP) legislative candidates received the highest support at 7.3 percent, followed by those of the PFP at 3.4 percent and the Taiwan Solidarity Union at 2.1 percent.

In terms of party votes, about 35 percent said they would vote for the DPP, while the KMT garnered 22.2 percent and the NPP 7.3 percent.

The PFP received only 5.8 percent of support — barely above the 5 percent threshold required for a party to be awarded at-large seats.

The poll collected 1,068 valid samples, with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

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Recent Food Scandals And Taiwan's Crony Capitalism Problem

Why is this article posted in 

the indy-daiwan 228 blog:

Ed NotE: In this pro-us-dpp/anti-china-kmt on-line magazine, New bloom, disguised as a youthful magazine that grew from the "sunflower movement," Editor brian hioe, a columbia university asia think tank wannabe puts the blame of the dirty oil scandal squarely on the KMT and, as is typical ignores the MALEFICENT anti-union us influence on taiwan the past seventy years. It also ignores the fact that while in taiwan gm foods will become illegal soon it is , in the us a company has the right not to divulge that its foods contents are gm; in other words, taiwan food is generally healthier than us products. 

this ARTICLE is a preemptive strike against the kmt's pro-unification stance using the quality of food as a reason for laizez-faire us CAPITALIST EXPLOITATION of the island without support for independence.  as such, it belongs in indy-daiwan 228 blog which promotes true independence 




BRIAN HIOE, COMMENTARY, ENGLISH, NEWS, NOVEMBER 2015, POLITICS

RECENT FOOD SCANDALS AND TAIWAN’S CRONY CAPITALISM PROBLEM

11/29/2015 NEWBLOOMEDITOR  PUBLISHED ECHO

by Brian Hioe

OVER THE PAST few years, food scandals have become all too common an event in Taiwan. The nation has seen major food scandals in 2011, 2013, and 2014. In all three cases, cooking oil was found to be adulterated with chemical products by companies seeking to cut costs. They were all followed by a period of public scare, in which consumers avoided contaminated food products—but then eventually returned to using these products in the long run.

Perhaps it is in part the short memory of the Taiwanese public which would allow for repetitive food scandals. On the other hand, however, it is that the Taiwanese food industry is dominated by large corporations who often evade oversight. The ubiquity of their products means that there is almost avoiding contaminated products. As such, it may not be entirely surprising that for all of the past food scandals, in time the Taiwanese public had no option but to return to eating products which had been implicated as contaminated.

The recent scandal of Ting Hsin group chairman Wei Ying-chun being found not guilty of violating the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation has provoked much outrage amongst the Taiwanese public and from civil society groups. The Ting Hsin group was implicated in the 2014 food scandal for adulterating cooking oil with waste oil and, in the case of tofu products, with industrial dyes. Wei had been implicated in the 2013 food oil scandal also and is one of the four Wei brothers that owns the Ting Hsin group. The Wei brothers are among the wealthiest individuals in Taiwan, possess longstanding ties to the KMT, and it was previously expected that they might flee with their assets to China in the case of a guilty verdict after an incident in 2014 which seemed to indicate early moves in preparation of flight.

That Wei would get off free has popularly been seen as indicating the collusion of the state with large corporations as the Ting Hsin group at the expense of the people, a gesture towards systematic injustice. Although many have suggested this is a result of incompetent prosecution or the laws on the books being insufficient. the question of the apparent incompetence of the prosecution has been a matter of controversy, with individuals pointing to this as an example of the failures of the Taiwanese justice system. The case can still be appealed.

But apart from questions of the outcome of the present ruling, taken as a whole, the Ting Hsin debacle is seen as the latest of the many examples of corporate executives with established guilt regarding seeming to get away with few consequences in Taiwan. In the case of Wei, then, he would be an individual who had been implicated in successive food scandals and gone relatively scot free, pointing to systematic failures of justice as well as safety regulation in Taiwan.

It is, of course, stunning that three major food scandals could occur within the last five years repeatedly. It is the collusion of the primarily KMT politicians with large, powerful corporations that allows for the repeated scandals such as the food scandals we have see in recent years. During past cases of food scandals, corporations were fined and some corporate executives arrested, but this has not prevented a repetition of food scandals. In all cases, the Ma Ying-Jeou administration has vowed stricter enforcement of food safety measures in the future, but this has not happened.

Indeed, what emerged in the 2014 food scandal was that Ting Hsin group had been adulterating their food products for decades. But apparently past food scandals had not prompted them to clean up their act in any way until they were caught. Will it only be that in the future, allegations of adulterated or contaminated food products by more large food conglomerates will emerge?

We find the collusion of KMT politicians with large, powerful corporations in a number of sectors. This includes the construction industry, the food industry, and the media. Scandals are passed off, the responsible parties escape guilt, and it is hoped that with the passage of enough time, the public will forget. Whether or not this was the case in the current ruling or more a product of prosecutorial incompetence, quite often this works.

Actually, this is a phenomenon of close ties between politicians and corporations is pervasive in Taiwanese society. So it is, then, that we find politicians covering for lax safety standards by construction companies, only for disasters to happen with breakdowns in infrastructure. In the construction industry, this goes as far as politicians partnering with construction companies with gangster ties for development projects, covering for the gangsters that attempt to drive residents off of a valuable piece of real estate in order to allow for redevelopment. It is also such that KMT politicians largely hoping to sell off Taiwan to China have allowed for the purchase of Taiwanese media outlets by Chinese companies, leading to a situation in which Taiwanese media becomes dominated by Chinese interests, and pro-China viewpoints.

Indeed, if contaminated Chinese food products have raised concerns about food safety in many recent years, a recent trade deal to be signed with China whose negotiations ultimately stalled raised fears of unsafe Chinese food products coming into Taiwan. But Taiwan’s international image abroad, too, has also certainly been affected by recent food scandals, each of the past years’ food scandals having led to Taiwanese food products being pulled from shelves across Asia. Where does the problem lie, then?

Namely, it would seem that Taiwan has a crony capitalism problem. Crony capitalism is defined as a form of capitalism in which close relations between businessmen and government officials is what allows for economic success. Largely, we see crony capitalism as a pervasive phenomenon in many of the East Asian capitalist countries. This would be the reason as to why government actors seem to be so willing to cover for businessmen and business interests, fail to pass substantial reform and create an environment which allows the wrongdoings of corporations to go unpunished.

Nevertheless, the problem is more deeply rooted. In past food scandals, what led to unsafe food products being sold on the market was corporations’ willingness to pass off products unfit for human consumption as safe, in some cases chemicals being deliberately added to food products in order to accomplish this effect. This was in most cases a cost-cutting measure in order to drive down production costs while keeping the prices of food products the same.

The problem, then, would go back to capitalists’ willingness to put unsafe food products on the market, in spite of effects on consumers’ health, in order to drive down production costs while maximizing profit. So perhaps the ultimate root of the problem is in the logic of capitalism itself, when it is that capitalists come to place their profit motive ahead of anything else. However, if individuals have called for reform or greater government regulation, it is that the persistence of crony capitalism is what has led to the failure of reform to take place in the past cases of food scandals.

The situation in Taiwan reminds vaguely of the conditions that existed in the American food industry in the early 20th century, in which powerful companies operating with little oversight systematically violated health regulations—as described, for example, in The Jungle,written by socialist and muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair to expose the poor working condition of immigrants. It was that the depiction of food processing in the The Jungle provoked widespread public outcry that ultimately led to reform, including scenes of factory rats being packaged into meat products which were later found to be factual. And though we may not see images as lurid as to be found in The Junglefrom the present food scandal, the deliberate addition of industrial-grade chemicals to food products by Ting Hsin and other companies should inspire no small amount of dread and outrage.

But seeing as we have already seen many instances of food scandals and public outcry in Taiwan in several years, apparently without lasting effect, what is it that will lead to genuine reform? This, too, may be an issue which goes back to the KMT and the capitalist business interests deeply tied with KMT power in Taiwan.

Brian Hioe (丘琦欣) is an M.A. student at Columbia University, a freelance writer on politics and social activism, and an occasional translator. He is a resident of Taipei, Taiwan.

Thanksgiving Facts: "In The Name of God"

(From the pages of An Indigenous People's History of the United States  by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz)

The Focus of Indydaiwan 228 Has Been Expanded

    The focus of Indydaiwan 228 has been expanded to include immigrant workers and indigenous islanders in Taiwan under the "Indy" banner. I have already started posting news stories concerning all three tendencies in Taiwan; we are all second class citizens to the Han Taiwanese majority. 

     I am a resident of Taiwan, thanks to my native-born wife. My wife's ancestors, of mixed heritage, came to Taiwan from Fujian due to poor living conditions there or to work the Dutch plantations in the sixteenth century here. Leona is proud of the split-nail on her pinkie toes, a residual trait of aboriginal blood which she must surely have. Like many Han Taiwanese, she comes from a farmer's working class background and has a feel for the underclass. Many Han people in Taiwan have allegiance to China; two million Chinese, aided by the United States military, fled with Chiang Kai-Shek to Taiwan after they lost the civil war with the communists in 1947. Like many turncoats, she could just as well have sided with side with the Chinese ruling class interlopers and abandoned hope of an independent Taiwan. 

    Though I am a resident of Taiwan, I don't feel like I am a second class settler; not because my wife is born Taiwanese, but because I am a retired citizen of the U.S. "White" residents of European dissent (even more than overseas Asians or African Americans) are treated differently by the Han Taiwanese than foreign workers from other Asian countries who must be on contract to stay here working for their Han Taiwanese bosses. I am retired and do not need to work or put up with conceited bosses of  lesser talent like many of my working class fellow ex-pats must do to survive here. I am not independently wealthy nor am I  hired here by an international conglomerate to assist in their home office outsourcing sweatshop manufacture here.  

     The indigenous people of Taiwan, who have lived here for thousands of years, were massacred and exploited by their Han and European oppressors and driven off their land into the mountains. Many struggle in poverty unable to break through the glass ceiling of Han dominated society. Indydaiwan 228 blog has solidarity with the oppressed of Taiwan, the freedom-seeking independence minded Han, the Asian working class, and the ex-pat European community. 

Power to the working people of Taiwan!

Taiwan/China Leaders Meeting; The Inevitable, not the Enviable

The leaders of China and Taiwan will meet
 Saturday on the neutral ground of Singapore,
 breaking 70 years of hostility. The last such 
meeting came in 1945, when Chiang Kai-shek
 got together with Mao Zedong. That was four
 years before Mao’s "takeover" (sic. NYT ) sent
 Chiang and his Nationalists "fleeing" to Taiwan,
 then called Formosa.

There are many reasons why leaders from different lands get together to chat; the best reason is to insure peace and prosperity for the people who live under their rule. The worst reason is to make their rule tighter. 

The meeting today between Ma Ying-Jyou and Xi Jun-Ping has little to do with insuring peace or increasing prosperity. Just the fact that the President of Taiwan can pick up and meet a foreign leader without approval of the people or prior consent from the legislature reveals clearly how the KMT, despite the rhetoric about "democracy" after  the 38 year-long martial law era ended, has little democracy at all.

The people of Taiwan are observers in this farcical meeting of leaders as they suffer under the reality of neo-liberal austerity making the full-time jobs with living wages impossible. As China and the U.S. divvy up what they can get from Taiwan, they subject this small island to more pollution, overuse and destruction of its scenic spots. 

People who love Taiwan, those who would claim to be supporters of independence, are cowards; they dare not fight for what they want. The premature birth, and death, of the "Sunflower Movement," co-opted by the DPP in this phony two-party system, was for their own political gains; not one youthful demonstrator got an increase in salary or a job for their troubles. Now the KMT has an opportunity for political gains in this meeting of their leader, Ma, with Xi Jun-Ping. 

Who are the real enemies of Taiwan, the ones that have made them, again, second-class citizens in their own homeland? The Taiwanese people can only blame themselves.

Let the farce continue; it is inevitable, but it is not enviable. As the workers of China continue to pass their Taiwanese neighbors' level of income and living standard, perhaps it is better that a People's Republic usurp this last of the twentieth century ruling fascist powers and impose their government on Taiwan; remove the last insult of Western interference in China's progressive affairs. However, there is no improvement in the standard of living for working people on the horizon across the Taiwan Strait. 

The Taiwanese people have to continue educating themselves, and be themselves, refusing to cave in to cultural erosion and foreign domination. This meeting today between two foreign leaders claiming Taiwan as their own, is irrelevant.

Taiwan should phase out English, too. and make local dialects of Mandarin local. 

schools is no longer used in English, then?

Wengshi Bo: Ghana primary and secondary schools is no longer used in English, then?

2015/10/30

Author: 

Weng Shibo

Keywords: 

West Africa 

Ghana 

Language 

English 

Dialect 

Education 

Colonial rule

Ghana implementation of the new education policy: From now on public elementary and secondary education is no longer taught in English. This picture taken are all authors, are also available.

Ghana can be said to be the star of the West African country, several of the foreign media has been selected as the most development potential of African countries in the top five, the rate of economic growth or even all of Africa's fastest. The degree of progress in political, economic, cultural, educational, significantly ahead of neighboring countries, and even the national soccer team is the strongest team in West Africa, several times on behalf of the African World Cup campaign, is still the envy of the other poor, struggling with corruption countries.

One Tree Ghana in West African countries of a cell, its official language is English, is surrounded by around Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Mali, Niger, Nigeria in several French-speaking countries, the economic and civilization development index but stand out, it is no wonder the people of West Africa often self quipped: "is the result of British colonial French colonial seems to be even better than, I knew we had to go to the British colonial, now would not be so far behind."

Recently, the Ghana government threw an avant-garde education policy is shocked other countries in West Africa. Ghana incumbent education minister Ms. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang developed a plan: from now on public elementary and secondary education is no longer taught in English.

We heard the news first reaction is: "That what language to use in class Asante language??" Explained the Minister of Education: on the class in the local dialect, there is no uniform language. Ghana Asante language although the most common dialect, but the use of the population accounted for only 16% of the total population, not the common language will be used in every region of Ghana, other dialects calculate more than eighty kinds.

This is the biggest obstacle to the implementation of African languages, dialects too much, every province, every village, every nation has its own language, and each other's voice and grammar are not quite the same, often next door to the village dialects simply belong entirely to another language. There are more than sixty kinds of dialects such as Burkina Faso, Nigeria has more than 120 kinds. So the locals say: "We do not know in which country the Tower of Babel, but it is certain that it must be in West Africa."

In West Africa, high fertility, the population of each ethnic group are still being increased, there is no crisis too urgent language disappears. In the country, not every child has the opportunity to go to school, followed by grandparents or parents are speaking in their mother tongue; even go to school, the teacher is talking about in the countryside dialect class. Language scholars exclaim many dialects of Africa is a living fossil, the ancient language has been around for so long, but still use a large number of the population.

Even if there are large numbers of people are using, there are still many local dialects Promotion Association, aims to "purify" dialect vocabulary not to be invasive language. West Africa has been ruled out of Europe over six years, but in Europe and America led globalization theater, foreign languages ​​such as English, French, Spanish or Portuguese vocabulary everywhere. "Red, green, blue," said the children come to the village dialect, but if it is pointed on their clothes, "yellow, gray, purple," then they would just say come in English or French; about half of the young people can speak their own dialect, "Monday through Sunday", but "January to December" dialect names would ask the village elders.

In order to preserve the pure dialect is Ghana decided to implement the use of dialect teaching purpose? Not really, the motivation behind the decision that perhaps more ambitious. Ghana's Minister of Education to see is one of decolonization, the country's progress towards the broad road. She declared: "This policy is about to change the future of this country." She gave the example of South Korea, by removing the Chinese, develop their own language, gradually creating an economic power. She also wanted to follow the example of East Africa, Tanzania, in February this year announced the total abolition of primary and secondary schools teach in English, opened the African countries to remove the colonial language of the first shot in an attempt to stand their roles in the head in the waves of globalization.

African countries from colonial rule in the past after five or six years, to master the powerful national political and economic leaders, and both are students who come back to visit United States and Europe, creating an internal "speaks English, French people are educated elite "of cognition. Students return home with an old friend of dialogue, dialect must also interspersed from time to time with the British, French vocabulary, perhaps forgetting dialect words, but more likely to show their well-educated image. English, French language in Africa is noble, and not because it is the language of the colonists are the people hate.

In Africa, however, this trend is changing, the Ghana Minister of Education announced a new policy of the moment, the presence of officials and dignitaries applauded warmly, they began to take pride in their own mother tongue. The Minister said: "According to the study, children learn their mother tongue, in addition to strengthening cognitive skills, promote learning ability, can stimulate nationalist identity." Africa nation continue to reflect: in pursuit of Westernization, blindly copying western development process, whether lost self, lost their roots and character? Dialect teaching policy was discussed for many years in Ghana, government officials make specific action is only a matter of time.

Several other West African countries, Ghana's new education policy heard, have expressed envy, envy them the courage to take this step, it is a big one with a lot of symbolic significance. Even the nation-state of the awakening of consciousness, to make such a decision is not easy to remove the English, French for African countries not only shouting slogans, follow from the language transplant project, a test of determination and unity of promoters people.

After the excitement of the new policy, followed by a public outcry, and people talking. First, you must decide which language to use in class. Ideally, local conditions, with the local dialect, which is the "mother language" to teach children the knowledge, there is no limit language. But standing in the middle section will angle to manage from dozens to hundreds of local dialects of teaching, almost impossible, still have to find the common denominator, focused on several domestic relatively common dialect. Asante language certainly will be selected, and that others do? Should choose several languages? Is some controversy.

This has been a vexing problem, many African countries in the development of official language when he experienced this dilemma, everyone is difficult to find common divisor, judge what language is important, can represent the nation; and what language is not so important because there are a lot of important criteria or not, population size used is not necessarily the objective, Africa's most populous dialect use is Swahili language of East Africa, it has been proposed as a representative of the African Union, the language, of course, was not adopted. So many countries simply will simply use English or French as the only official language, a dialect not everyone is the official language, but peaceful country. Of course there are countries tied dialect is the official language, such as South Africa, as many as 11 kinds.

Secondly, the current English textbooks must be completely accessible, change your dialect written in the local language teaching scholars, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, history, geography. Just this one job, Ghana government estimates it takes more than a decade to complete. Codification of its high degree of difficulty, so that the project's goal to become netizens ridicule, "Does anyone can explain the periodic table of African dialect?" Elementary curriculum in general may be able to talk in dialect, once in high school more specialized subjects, Many use the dialect elaborate abstract concepts, but also to scholars in various fields headache, proper nouns also need to go through well-researched.

Text dialect of the time it is difficult to estimate. Many African dialects only oral language, there is no text, although many official and non-governmental organizations are committed to the development of dialect words, dialect publishing books, dictionaries, and even a newspaper, but a complete text from the language still has some not a small gap, such as spelling and no uniform, a few years ago began to implement the Civil Service dialect written signs, how finance bureau wording is not the same in every city? See signs, even native speakers have stopped a long time, the mouth repeatedly whisper read several times, only to avoid strong knowing come here is the original social insurance bureau.

Third, after the use of dialect implement basic education, higher education and practice how to do? Ghana preliminary planning stage to remove the primary to secondary school taught in English, but high school or college course, impossible to continue to use the dialect, because more specialized courses, and students from around the country. For the use of dialect study that students who enter high school or university's competitiveness and ability to adapt will soon put to the test, if they did not understand English, can not read English textbooks, it is bound not accept more advanced education, but unable to communicate with the world. standards. If they need to strengthen English education, and that this policy is a full circle back to the origin.

Based on a variety of concerns, also a lot of opposition. Think African countries have split enough not use dialect differentiation around each ethnic group. At present, there is a common language, to maintain the people's daily life communication, information, communication and work, there is no need to spend a lot of thought will eradicate it. There is more need to focus on education issues, such as the quality of teachers in remote rural schools in Africa, and so on hardware construction, the central government does not need to spend so much public resources to make a big fuss in the language.

These rational speculation, government officials are not not listen, but Tanzania still opened the first example, Ghana and then the second one, will continue to appear after the third, fourth ...... Why so African countries want to promote the use of dialect teaching it? Because they have their own language, should be the six decades since independence, has been trying to achieve a simple dream of it.

Foreign caregiver placed in shelter after abuse video

LANGUAGE BARRIER?Siti’s employer insisted she only pinched the caregiver’s cheeks lightly, and accused her of being sneaky and disobedient

Staff writer, with CNA

An Indonesian caregiver who recorded a video of her allegedly being abused by her employer has been put in a migrant worker shelter, police said yesterday.

Police said 22-year-old Siti Inayatus Solekah arrived in Taiwan three months ago to take care of a 73-year-old woman, surnamed Mao (毛), who needs dialysis year-round.

As Siti could not speak Mandarin, she had difficulty communicating with her employer.

Lai Chien-chih (賴建智), head of the Tanzih police precinct in Taichung, said Mao often slapped Siti on the face or pinched her cheeks because she was angry that Siti could not follow her instructions due to the language barrier.

Siti said she was physically abused two to three times per week and decided to take action by setting up her mobile phone on the kitchen counter, taking a video of her being hit and sending it on Sunday to her sister, who is working in Hong Kong.

Siti’s sister posted the video on the Facebook page of the non-governmental organization Serve the People Association in Taoyuan the following day.

The association alerted police, who found nothing wrong on their first visit to Mao’s home.

After the association provided police with the video, they visited Mao’s residence again and got the abused caretaker out.

In the video, Mao can be seen pulling Siti’s collar, police said.

Mao said she wanted to teach the Indonesian caregiver a lesson because Siti often sneaked out of the house and was disobedient, but Mao insisted she only pinched Siti’s cheeks lightly.

Siti has decided to file an assault complaint against her employer, and the case has been handed over to prosecutors, police said.

Association members helped Siti move to a shelter in Taoyuan yesterday and will assist with the suit and settlement of wages.

‘Aborigines need respect’

CALL FOR SINCERITY:Republican Party legislative candidate Rahic Amind says the non-indigenous majority should sincerely respect Aboriginal people

By Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Indigenous legislative campaigns should focus on economic and educational policy rather than social benefits, Republican Party legislative candidate Rahic Amind said, adding that “welfare colonialism” is holding back progress on Aboriginal issues

Amind, a member of the Amis people campaigning for one of the three Legislative Yuan seats reserved for plains Aborigines, said policies such as mandating employers to provide additional holiday time for Aborigines acted as “morphine,” which failed to directly address the economic and educational challenges they face.

Independent plains Aborigines candidate Mayaw Biho said that employers should be required to give Aboriginal workers two additional days off every year to participate in annual festivals, up from the current one day per year.

“Holiday policy is superficial and likely to generate substantial controversy,” Amind said, adding that allowing for additional days would raise question about whether Aborigines should continue to get time off for the Lunar New Year.

He said it was more important to spend efforts to make the nation’s Han Chinese majority sincerely respect Aborigines.

“We should not just work to ensure that Aboriginal children study Aboriginal culture — a more important responsibility is ensuring that Han Chinese people are also familiar with Aborigines,” he said, calling for national curriculum guidelines to be revised to provide mandatory indigenous culture classes.

He also said additional busing should be provided in Aboriginal areas to ensure continued education, as falling student numbers leads to the closure of many remote schools.

On the issue of Aboriginal self-governance, Amind said that a National Affairs Conference should be held to allow each village and ethic group to present its needs.

Amind, who was originally running as an independent candidate, said he had held three months of discussions with party officials before accepting the Republic Party’s nomination.

He added that he supported an immediate national referendum on unification or independence, adding that either was better than “putting off the problem” by maintaining the “status quo.”

His nomination was announced yesterday by the Republic Party, along with that of Chang Yao-yuan (張耀元), a doctor who is set to run in Changhua County’s second district.

The new announcements brought the party’s number of district candidates to 15, five more than the minimum 10 required to be eligible for at-large legislative seats.

The party was founded earlier this year by legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) following her resignation from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Allow Aboriginal youths to serve in villages: activists

By Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Aboriginal youths should be allowed to work in their villages instead of doing mandatory military service, activists said yesterday.

“Due to an excessive amount of soldiers, there are numerous alternatives to military service, including with the police, firefighters and in the technology industry, with alternative military service in an industrial capacity a recent addition. This is an unfair and unreasonable phenomenon,” independent Aboriginal legislative candidate Mayaw Biho said.

“We hope the Council of Indigenous Peoples can create an opportunity to allow young Aborigines to return to their villages and perform ‘cultural alternative military service,’” Biho added.

All men between 18 and 36 are required to serve 11 months of compulsory military service, with different forms of alternative military service available to some based on family connections, health and individual skills.

Biho said that Aborigines already contribute more than their fair share to the armed forces, constituting 7 percent of regular military personnel, with more than 60 percent in special roles, even though they account for only 2 percent of the population.

Aboriginal men choose to enter the military due to a lack of better opportunities, he said, adding the concentration of resources and opportunities in urban areas has caused most young indigenous people to leave their villages, leading to rapid assimilation and loss of traditional culture.

Giving young people the opportunity to serve in their villages after graduation could help them connect with their roots, he said.

“There should at least be a window of opportunity, because otherwise, many young Aborigines born in Taipei might never visit their parents’ villages,” he said.

Biho said the services actually performed could vary based on individual skills, possibly including teaching, farming or care for the elderly.

Amis Defense Alliance member Kawlo lyun Pacidal said that at yearly sacrificial festivals in the villages she is familiar with, most of the burden of preparation falls on the shoulders one or two young people who remain, adding that alternative military service should be allowed to promote Aboriginal culture.

She added that under A New Partnership Between the Indigenous Peoples and the Government of Taiwan (新夥伴關係), a treaty-like document signed in 2009 by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) before he was elected and indigenous representatives, Aboriginal communities are recognized as quasi-states that should have the right to offer alternative military service options.

“Cultural alternative military service” would allow Aborigines to “fight for ourselves” in the battle against assimilation by modern civilization, Aboriginal artist Siki Sufin said, adding that the contributions by Aboriginal fighters during World War II and the Chinese Civil War have yet to be recognized.

Council of Indigenous Peoples Department of Education and Culture senior official Wagi Taro said that the council supported the idea of “cultural alternative military service” in principle, but that it would have to hold discussions with related government agencies to determine the feasibility and implementation of the proposal.