More than 1,300 obtained Siraya status, council says
By Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNA
A total of 1,336 people have obtained official status as Siraya since registration opened on Aug. 13, the Council of Indigenous Peoples yesterday said.
The government on July 30 officially recognized Siraya as Taiwan’s 17th indigenous group and the first recognized under the Pingpu Indigenous People’s Status Act (平埔原住民族群身分法)
The act passed a third reading in the legislature on Oct. 17 last year and was promulgated on Oct. 23, following more than three decades of campaigning by Siraya for official recognition.
Siraya community members dance at a ceremony marking the group’s official recognition at the Executive Yuan in Taipei on July 30.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Before the movement for official recognition began in the 1990s, Pingpu were considered to have largely assimilated into the majority population under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government after it took power in 1945.
A total of 12,178 applied, with 1,336 obtaining Pingpu indigenous status as members of the Siraya as of last month, the council said.
The Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee yesterday received reports from the council, the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation and the Indigenous Languages Research and Development Foundation.
Since the law took effect, applications for recognition have been accepted from nine indigenous groups: the Siraya, Taivoan, Makatao, Taokas, Kaxabu, Pazeh, Papora, Babuza and Ketagalan, the council said.
Applications from the Pazeh, Kaxabu and Taokas are to undergo a review by a panel of experts, while a draft set of eligibility requirements for Taivoan membership is expected to be announced soon, it said.
To qualify for Pingpu indigenous status, applicants must provide supporting documentation. One important source is population census records from the Japanese colonial period, which identified their communities and defined the areas where they lived.
The council said it would accelerate the approval of indigenous groups and the identity registration process.
Before the Siraya’s recognition, Taiwan officially recognized 16 indigenous groups, generally classified as highland indigenous people.
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