The organizers removed signage from the Council of Indigenous Peoples’ booth due to disagreement over using the term ‘indigenous peoples.’
The News Lens
Date: 2016/10/21
By: ZiQing Low
Taiwan’s Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) yesterday withdrew from the 2016 Hangzhou Cultural and
Photo Credit: Council of Indigenous Peoples
Creative Industry Expo after the CIP’s full name was removed from their exhibit at the expo.
The CIP, along with 10 indigenous cultural industry groups, had planned to attend the expo from Oct. 20-24.
In a press statement released on their website yesterday, the CIP said that the General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China conveyed a request from the organizing committee of the expo on Oct. 14 that the CIP change “indigenous peoples” to “minorities” on all their exhibit material.
“We will not allow the usage of ‘indigenous peoples’ regardless of which organization,” the CIP was told.
Despite ongoing negotiations to keep the title with “indigenous peoples,” the organizing committee in China removed the CIP’s sign from their “Ayoi Indigenous Peoples Cultural Booth.”
“To protect the dignity of Taiwan and its indigenous community, representatives from the council will hand in a letter of protest to the organizers of the expo and withdraw our participation,” the CIP said in a statement. [FULL STORY]
