Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

On Indigenous Peoples' Day—August 1, 2016—President Tsai Ing-wen apologized on behalf of the government to Taiwan's indigenous peoples and announced plans to establish the Presidential Office Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee (hereafter referred to as Indigenous Justice Committee), to be chaired by the president herself. The committee will work hand-in-hand with representatives of the various indigenous peoples in pursuit of historical justice.

Presidential Office Spokesperson Huang Chung-yen (黃重諺) stated on August 1 that President Tsai earlier that day had approved the Guidelines for Establishment of the Presidential Office Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee, an ad hoc task force that will serve as a collective decision-making mechanism by indigenous peoples.

Spokesperson Huang emphasized that President Tsai attaches great importance to having a relationship of equals between the state and indigenous peoples. The Indigenous Justice Committee is required to have 29 to 31 committee members. Among these members, the Guidelines require one representative for each of the 16 indigenous peoples, and three representatives for all Pingpu ethnic groups, to be elected within four months of August 1, 2016 on the basis of consensus within indigenous ethnic groups and communities.

The main tasks of the Indigenous Justice Committee include the following: (1) disclose accurate historical information regarding violations against indigenous peoples and deprivation of indigenous rights caused throughout history by alien regimes or immigrants; (2) draw up plans for measures to provide restitution or reparations for violations of the rights of indigenous peoples; (3) conduct a review to identify laws and policies that cause discrimination against indigenous peoples or violate the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law, and put forward amendment recommendations; and (4) actively implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the various international human rights conventions.

Spokesperson Huang also pointed out that President Tsai would ask the Executive Yuan to periodically convene meetings of the Committee to Promote Review and Implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law. In the future, as the Indigenous Justice Committee reaches points of policy consensus, the Executive Yuan Committee to Promote Review and Implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law will act—at the Yuan level of the administrative hierarchy—to coordinate and handle related matters, and at the end of each year the Indigenous Justice Committee will publish an annual report on the implementation of its work. The hope is to gradually achieve three key goals of the government's policy on indigenous peoples—implement the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law, achieve historical justice for indigenous peoples, and establish a foundation for indigenous self-rule.

Following is the Guidelines for Establishment of the Presidential Office Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee:

1. In order to implement the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law, promote historical justice and transitional justice, and establish a foundation for self-rule by indigenous peoples, the Presidential Office Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee is hereby established to coordinate and promote related matters, and to serve as a platform for consultation between the government and the various indigenous peoples on an equal footing.

2. The tasks of the committee are as follows:
(1) Collect, process, and disclose accurate historical information regarding violations against indigenous peoples and deprivation of indigenous rights caused throughout history by alien regimes or immigrants.

(2) Draw up plans for administrative, legislative, or other measures to provide restitution, reparations, or compensation for violations against indigenous peoples and deprivation of indigenous rights.

(3) Conduct a comprehensive review to identify laws and policies that cause discrimination against indigenous peoples or violate the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law, and put forward amendment recommendations.

(4) Actively implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the various relevant international human rights conventions.

(5) Collect, process, and discuss information and views regarding indigenous historical justice and transitional justice.

3. The committee shall be organized as a task force, and shall have 29 to 31 committee members. The president shall serve as the convener. There shall be two deputy conveners; one of these shall be appointed by the president, while the committee members representing the various indigenous peoples shall elect the other deputy convener from among their own number. The other committee members shall include:
(1) one representative for each of the 16 indigenous peoples;
(2) three representatives for all Pingpu ethnic groups; and
(3) representatives of relevant government agencies; experts and scholars; and representatives of indigenous civic groups.

The first subparagraph of the preceding paragraph means that there shall be one representative for each of the 16 indigenous peoples officially recognized as such by the Executive Yuan, and each indigenous people's assembly shall elect its representative in accordance with its current internal practices. If a particular indigenous group has not yet established an indigenous people's assembly, then the various indigenous communities comprising that indigenous group shall jointly convene a consensus-building meeting to elect a representative. If an indigenous group is too widely dispersed geographically, then in each district where the people of that indigenous group reside, a consensus-building meeting shall be convened to propose a representative in accordance with current internal practices in that district, and then a representative from each district shall attend a consensus-building meeting to elect a representative to the committee.

The second subparagraph of the first paragraph means that the ten Pingpu ethnic groups shall convene a consensus-building meeting where representatives shall be jointly elected by currently existing indigenous communities and other civic groups that have long advocated for Pingpu ethnic groups to be officially recognized as indigenous groups.

Election of the committee members referred to in subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the first paragraph shall be completed within four months of August 1, 2016. For any indigenous group that fails to elect a representative by the deadline, a representative shall be selected and retained by the president from among persons recommended by various sectors of society. The aforementioned committee members may not participate in activities of political parties during their term of office.

The committee members referred to in the third subparagraph of the first paragraph shall be invited to serve by the convener following solicitation of relevant views; among the committee members, persons of indigenous ethnicity shall comprise at least half of the experts and scholars.

The term of office for the committee members shall be two years, but the term of office for members of the first committee shall run until May 19, 2018, and at the end of a member's term, he or she may be retained again (reappointed); when a committee member's position becomes vacant, a successor shall be retained in accordance with the provisions of these Guidelines, and the successor's term shall conclude on the day the original term was scheduled to conclude.

4. Under the committee there shall be a subcommittee on land matters, subcommittee on culture, subcommittee on languages, subcommittee on history, and subcommittee on reconciliation. These thematic subcommittees are to study pertinent issues and put them forward for discussion at committee meetings. The committee may also establish other temporary subcommittees as they may become necessary for the committee's work.

The tasks of the subcommittees are as follows:
(1) Subcommittee on land matters:
(i) Process and publicly release information on indigenous peoples and Pingpu ethnic groups regarding the content and scope of their land records, the significance of their land, the history of their relocations, and the course of their interactions with other peoples during different historical periods over the past 400 years.

(ii) Process and publicly release information from different historical periods regarding land use regulations, how indigenous peoples and Pingpu ethnic groups lost their land, and the methods, social milieu, laws, and customs associated with land seizures.

(iii) Process and publicly release information regarding the names, locations, significance, geographical extent, and traditional norms pertaining to indigenous peoples' mythical places of origin, places of ancestral origin, sacred places, hunting grounds, ceremonial sites, geographical extent of gathering activities, and other traditional spheres.

(iv) Review conflicts between indigenous peoples' traditional spheres and current legislation, and put forward recommendations for improvements.

(2) Subcommittee on culture:
(i) Process and publicly release information from different historical periods regarding the loss of: (a) traditional ceremonies; and (b) various lifestyles, dietary, medical, or religious customs of indigenous peoples and Pingpu ethnic groups.

(ii) Process and publicly release: (a) information on history, myths, customs, taboos, and rules pertaining to indigenous peoples' hunting (hunters, hunting tools, and prey); and (b) laws of governing regimes throughout history that have restricted hunting.

(iii) Process and publicly release: (a) information on history, myths, customs, taboos, and rules pertaining to indigenous peoples' gathering activities; and (b) laws of governing regimes throughout history that have restricted gathering activities.

(iv) Review conflicts between indigenous peoples' traditions and current legislation, and put forward recommendations for improvements.

(3) Subcommittee on languages:
(i) Process and preserve information on the history of loss of the languages of indigenous peoples and Pingpu ethnic groups, measures to ban the use of these languages, processes by which writing systems were developed and eliminated, and efforts to re-establish indigenous languages. Produce and publish videos and dictionaries relating to each indigenous language.

(ii) Put forward recommendations regarding methods for preserving indigenous languages.

(4) Subcommittee on history:
(i) Collect historical records, photographs, documents, and images pertaining to indigenous peoples and Pingpu ethnic groups in all historical periods.

(ii) Process and publicly release information from throughout history pertaining to historic battles of indigenous peoples and Pingpu ethnic groups, and conflicts with other peoples.

(iii) Examine the views of indigenous peoples and Pingpu ethnic groups regarding the Han Chinese people's view of history, and put forward recommendations accordingly.

(5) Subcommittee on reconciliation
(i) Formulate plans and recommendations regarding the manner of reconciliation, reparations, or compensation between different peoples.

(ii) Recommend policies and legislation conducive to reconciliation between different peoples.

5. The committee shall meet once every three months, and may convene extraordinary sessions when necessary. All meetings shall be convened and presided over by the convener, and when the convener is unable to attend, the meeting shall be presided over by a deputy convener.

When the committee meets, it may, in light of items on the agenda, request the attendance of government agency representatives, scholars, experts, or representatives of indigenous organizations or groups.

Before the end of each year, the committee shall publish an annual report on the implementation of its work, and shall provide it to the relevant government agencies for follow-up action.

6. The committee shall have an executive secretary and a deputy executive secretary, each of whom shall be appointed by the convener.

7. The convener may retain scholars and experts to serve as consultants to the committee.

8. With respect to the administrative, legislative, and other measures that the committee plans and recommends, the Executive Yuan Committee to Promote Review and Implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law ("Indigenous Peoples Basic Law Committee") shall be the entity that handles deliberative and coordination matters connected with follow-up work, and when the committee meets, the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law Committee shall dispatch personnel to report on progress in its work.

9. In order to carry out its duties, the committee may request that relevant government agencies provide needed documents and files or dispatch their personnel to provide explanations before the committee.

10. The committee shall be staffed by personnel seconded from the Office of the President, the Council of Indigenous Peoples, and other relevant agencies.

11. The convener, deputy conveners, committee members, consultants, executive secretary, and deputy executive secretary shall all serve without remuneration.

12. The funding required by the committee shall be provided by means of budgetary allocations by the Office of the President and the relevant agencies under the Executive Yuan.

13. These Guidelines shall take effect upon approval by the president.