A phenomenon some are calling direct democracy is taking place in Taiwan's indigenous towns and villages, with the Truku indigenous group initiating a proposal on a formula for self-rule June 14 and representatives of the Saisiyat setting up a tribal council June 25.
These groundbreaking moves were made in accordance with the ROC Aboriginal Basic Act. While campaigning for president in 1999, Chen Shui-bian had promised to establish a new, equal partnership between the nation's Han majority and the indigenous minority, even signing an agreement to that effect during a visit to Orchid Island. Chen took office in 2000, but such a new partnership has failed to materialize. Nevertheless, the administration's efforts in this regard have led to a piece of legislation, the aboriginal act, taking effect Feb. 5, 2005.
The act states that the government must safeguard the status of aborigines and "work toward" providing self-rule of each tribe. Self-rule was regarded as the best way to protect the rights and heritage of Taiwan's indigenous groups.
The Truku is the first such group to put forward such a detailed proposal for a self-government mechanism. Truku representatives sat down in Taipei with government officials in a public hearing June 14 to examine the draft and negotiate.
Until recently, the government labeled the Truku a subgroup of the Atayal tribe. After 12 years of lobbying, the Truku people finally succeeded in getting the government to recognize them as a distinct aboriginal group--the nation's 12th--in 2004.
The area traditionally inhabited by the Truku people was turned into Taroko National Park in 1986 by the government. The park's establishment was meant to preserve the natural beauty and wildlife in the area of Taroko Gorge, but in 2004, the government officials in charge of park administration began accepting tenders to allow development of the scenic area, specifically resort hotels and restaurants. The decision to auction off land was made without consulting the traditional inhabitants of the area, the Truku people. Due to pressure from local inhabitants and environmentalists, the Ministry of the Interior ordered a halt to the bidding process.
"The damage that this land development would do to the living environment of the Truku highlights the need for self government and self determination for aborigines," said Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Kung Wen-chi, an Atayal.
According to Kung, the Truku people have had 27 meetings with residents of the area's towns and villages since 2004, and the proposal was drafted in accordance with the ROC Constitution and the Aboriginal Basic Act, and was consistent with the traditional spirit of the Truku people.
After this extensive period of consultation, the final draft was penned by Teyra Yudaw, chairman of the Truku Self-Government Promotion Commission. It stipulates that three towns located in Hualien County and a part of the central mountain region of Nantou County are to be administered by the Truku people. The regional government would be composed of an elected council, an administration and a council head, called the Bukung, who would be directly elected by the people of the area.
Officials from the central government have complained that there would be difficulties in implementing the scheme, pointing out that parts of the draft could be considered unconstitutional. They also point out that the draft conflicts with other, lesser ROC laws such as the Law on Local Government Systems, the Forestry Act and various statutes governing education.
Lin Chiang-i, an official from the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP), said he worried that insufficient legal procedures may invalidate the law on self-governance. He said a law on indigenous autonomous areas must be adopted before any self-rule plan can be realized.
The Executive Yuan approved the Draft Law on Indigenous Autonomous Areas in June 2003. The bill would provide a structure for setting aside territory over which aboriginal communities could exercise authority. Unfortunately, it is one of the many pieces of legislation currently stalled in the ROC Legislative Yuan. CIP officials, however, have promised to try very hard to have it put on the legislative agenda for the next session in September.
One of the problems with the Aboriginal Basic Act as passed last year is that it stipulates that the CIP must propose amendments to certain of the nation's other laws before the act can be used to provide regional self-government systems to the nation's indigenous groups. As it stands now, key amendments are nowhere close to being passed by the Legislature.
Meanwhile, Saisiyat representatives convened June 25 in a sacred field where they traditionally hold their biennial Pasta'ai ceremony. They announced that they would establish a tribal council covering four Saisiyat communities in Wufong, a mountainous region of Hsinchu County.
The organization was set up in accordance with an enforcement principle promulgated by the Cabinet-level CIP in March which states that each indigenous group must form a tribal council through election or in compliance with its particular traditions. Decisions made by the councils will be taken into account by the central government and existing local governments when they implement policies that affect the lives of aborigines.
Last August, Saisiyat elders authorized younger Saisiyat leaders to form a preparatory commission for the establishment of such a council. The June 25 meeting was held as part of overall efforts to empower the group's members in negotiations for self-rule with the government.
Huang Yu-lin, a research director at the Taiwan Peace Foundation and a professor at National Chiao Tung University, spoke at the meeting and offered advice on the formation of the council and the difficulties it would face.
Huang pointed out that the Saisiyat have employed a unique patriarchal system of rule that started before recorded history on Taiwan, and continued into the Japanese Colonial Period (1895-1945). When the KMT took over, this leadership tradition was destroyed. Now, Huang said, "forming the council is retrieving the kind of self-rule the Saisiyat had enjoyed."