Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Tsai Ing-wen presided over the 12th meeting of the Presidential Office Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee on the afternoon of February 27. The president thanked indigenous peoples for joining in our concerted efforts to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). She also mentioned that she made a promise four years ago to restore the history, languages, and cultures of indigenous peoples and to ensure that indigenous peoples will never lose their languages. These are also the goals which she and everyone at the meeting have been striving to accomplish, she said. Similarly, the president stated, during the next phase -- over the next four years -- the government will continue to promote the work we should be doing on behalf of indigenous peoples.

A translation of President Tsai's remarks follows:

Government agencies have recently stepped up their response to the outbreak of COVID-19, and we are now engaged in an all-out disease prevention effort. I know that many indigenous peoples, including our Committee members, have been very focused on disease prevention, and I want to first thank you all for your collective efforts.

Of course, even as we work to prevent the spread of disease, we must continue to press forward in our pursuit of historical justice and transitional justice.

The Committee's five thematic subcommittees have all achieved significant results so far and are now entering the final stages of their three-year work outlines.

For today's meeting, we have arranged for Subcommittee on History Convener Wusai Lafin (林素珍) to give a report on the establishment and interpretation of historic memorials related to major historical events involving indigenous peoples.

The Subcommittee on History has an important mission, which is to help indigenous peoples to recover historical truths that have been overlooked or covered up, so that the historical memories of indigenous peoples can be widely understood by the people of Taiwan and truly become shared historical memories.

Before coming here I scanned the briefing contained in the materials for this meeting, and I am very much looking forward to the report of the Subcommittee on History. I am also looking forward to the responses from the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP), the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Culture to the question of how the government can broaden the public's exposure to the historical perspective of indigenous peoples.

In addition, International Mother Language Day was just a few days ago, and to coincide with this event, the CIP organized a national Indigenous Languages Development Conference, while the Foundation for the Research and Development of Indigenous Languages, for which indigenous peoples have such high expectations, was formally established. Shortly, I will ask CIP Minister Icyang Parod (夷將．拔路兒) to report on the recent progress of our indigenous languages policy.

I made a promise four years ago to restore the history, languages, and cultures of indigenous peoples and to ensure that indigenous peoples will never lose their languages. These are also the goals which I and everyone else here have been striving to accomplish.

Similarly, during the next phase -- which is to say, over the next four years -- the government will continue to promote the work we should be doing on behalf of indigenous peoples.

I would once again like to thank all the members of the Committee, the subcommittees, and our many government colleagues for your participation. So let us begin today's meeting. Thank you.

After completing her remarks, the president was briefed on a progress report from the Subcommittee on History and a report on the promotion of our indigenous languages development.