Taiwan Church News
3568 Edition
July 13 – 19, 2020
Church News

Indigenous Tayal People Protest Building Temple on Their Land

Reported by Lin Yi-yin

The eastern-Taiwan indigenous people of five Tayal aboriginal tribes, including Stacis, Kulu, Syabutay, Ngungupa and Krgyax, stage a strong protest toward the Yilan County officials during their field survey at Kulu tribe on July 8.

Rev Syat Nayuki, pastor of Stacis Presbyterian Church of Tayal Presbytery, expresses that many his tribal people had been solicited via charity foods or petty favors from around two years ago by the Fong-San Temple, a Taiwanese folks-religious cult located at Yilan city.

It is not acknowledged to the tribal people, until recently, that a piece of traditional reserved land within Kulu tribe has already been transferred to Fong-San Temple, according to Rev Syat Nayuki, and this sale of land does shock and anger the whole Tayal aboriginal society.

Rev Omi Wilang, secretary of PCT Indigenous Mission Committee, severely criticizes an unlawful motivation of Fong-San Temple, utilizing an aboriginal-inhabitant as a proxy to own such aboriginal land which legal use stipulated for agricultural crops.

In addition, this deal is absolutely breaking article 21 of The Indigenous Peoples Basic Law, which requires any land transaction within the traditional reserved lands has to be agreed by the general assembly of the very indigenous people, Rev Omi Wilang remarks.

Translated by Peter Wolfe