Taiwan Church News

3383 Edition

26 December 2016 - 1 January 2017

Church Ministries

Rev Omi Wilang: A Huge Gap Exists Between President's Tsai Aboriginal Policy And Its Execution

Reported by Lin Chia-jin

Reflecting President Tsai's official apology and political promises to Taiwan's aboriginal peoples on August 1, TheAboriginal People Day hence after, Rev Omi Wilang - secretary of PCT Indigenous Mission Committee - expressed his deep disappointment in a recent interview that there was a huge gap existed between President Tsai's aboriginal policy and its execution. He hoped the responsible officials could show their audacity to carry out those aboriginal policies solemnly pledged by the President and desperately desired by the aboriginal people.

Criticizing President Tsai's inappropriate or awkward U-turn on three sincere promises: 1) nuclear waste to move outof the Orchid; 2) legal re-establishment of the traditional aborigine reserve; 3) setup of Aboriginal Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee under the President Office, which were pledged to solve in President's apology and pledges on August 1, Rev Omi Wilang urged Tsai administration to check if the execution of these promises had been went wrong?

According to Rev Omi Wilang, central government's current stance of nuclear waste on the Orchid - to re-organize atruth finding committee on nuclear waste - is apparently to put off the schedule of solution, as the rental contract signed between the government and the Dao people on the Orchid had already expired.

On the issue of how to draw the bounds of traditional aborigine reserve, current bill proposed by centralgovernment will not only split or even wrongly explain the traditional reserve, but also very likely to set an unfair limit for the interested parties.

As to the issue, how to elect the members of the Aboriginal Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committeeunder the President Office, Rev Omi Wilang bombarded the authoritarian mindset of the Council of Indigenous Peoples intentionally overlooking diverse democratic voices expressed from different aboriginal people. "Apparently the whole administration heads toward a wrong direction, as a huge gap exists between President Tsai's aboriginal policy and its execution!", remarked Rev Omi Wilang.

Translated by Peter Wolfe