LIP SERVICE:Rights advocates said that it is not enough for President Tsai Ing-wen to apologize; she must direct the government to restore Aboriginal rights and land

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 29, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

Aboriginal rights advocates yesterday called on the Presidential Office’s Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Commission to force revisions of controversial demarcation guidelines, while condemning the Democratic Progress Party (DPP) caucus for remaining silent.

“We hope that the commission will not be a rubber stamp for the Executive Yuan and truly reflect our communities’ voices by responding to our appeal,” Paiwan People’s Council preparation group member Ljegay Rupeljengan said at a news conference.

Several Aboriginal rights groups condemned the DPP and the People First Party caucuses for refusing to take an official stance on the revision of the guidelines.

In response to requests from advocates, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and New Power Party (NPP) caucuses called for the guidelines to be revised to remove restrictive language allowing only for the inclusion of public land and requested amendments to allow Aboriginal communities to demarcate their land without the approval of local governments, the groups said.    [FULL  STORY]