DEMANDING EQUALITY: Non-Aboriginal farmers may use the land as long as they do not break the law, the Council of Indigenous Peoples said in a statement

Taipei Times
Date: May 15, 2019
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Hundreds of farmers yesterday rallied in front of the Executive Yuan in Taipei to protest the Council of Indigenous Peoples “forcibly removing” them from their homes and “confiscating” their farmland.

Wu Tien-yu (吳天祐), chairman of the Taiwan Association for the Rights of Non-Aboriginal Residents in Mountain Indigenous Townships, led the rally, which was attended by members of the Association for the Rights of Nantou County Residents and farmers’ groups nationwide.

Wu accused the council of political persecution by launching lawsuits against the members of his organization and affiliated farmers’ groups, saying that it had unfairly labeled them as “intruding outsiders illegally occupying Aboriginal territory.”

“Many of our members have lived in the mountains for several generations, cultivating crops for their livelihoods. Most have legally obtained use of their land, and have paid land leases and other fees,” Wu said.    [FULL  STORY]