This article is from the Taipei Times and is reprinted with their permission. This is an OK newspaper though it's got it's pro-corporate bias so there is nothing too radical. However it does carry some good articles on Taiwan Aborigines once in a while. Do a search of their archieves using the word "Aboriginal" to get an updated list of stories.
They are located at: http://www.taipeitimes.com
Title: Aborigines claim discrimination
Published: Oct. 28, 1999
Source: Taipei Times
Nearly 400 protesters from the "Taiwan
Aborigines Sept. 21 Earthquake Self-help
Coalition yesterday gathered at Chiang
Kai-shek Memorial Hall to protest against the
government's emergency relief policies,
which they claimed discriminate against
them.
Following a protest on Tuesday accusing Vice
President Lien Chan of being indifferent to the
plight in the Aboriginal villagers, protesters
went on demonstrating, saying that Aborigines
felt like orphans as a result of unfair relief
policies.
After they were received by officials of the
Council of Aboriginal Affairs, the crowd
dispersed with a demand to speak with
Premier Vincent Siew next Friday about his
relief programs for the Aborigines.
Participants of the protest include Aboriginal
villagers from Hoping village in Taichung
County, Jenai village and Hsinyi village in
Nantou County and a group of urban
Aborigines dwelling in central Taiwan.
Led by Aboriginal preacher Wang Chung-hsin,
Taichung County councilor Lin Jungching and
Nantou County councilor Yukan Nafu, the
Coalition was organized with help from the
activist group Aboriginal Rights Association
and the Labor Rights Association. Among their
10 demands, an NT$10 billion (US$312.5
million) fund to provide loans specifically for
Aborigines was emphasized.
Traffic difficulties, potential mudslides,
agricultural damage and unemployment are
still the main complaints, said Yukan Nafu from
Tayal tribe, one of the organizers.
New problems also have emerged among
Aboriginal students. As several elementary
schools in mountain areas have not resumed
teaching, students have had to transfer to
schools in towns.
"But here we were discriminated against by
non-Aborigines," said an Amis student.
Existing policies are divided between different
government organizations, which means that
Aborigines have to file application forms to
many agencies to have their requests dealt
with, and their needs are often neglected.
"There should be a single cross-departmental
organization to deal with Aboriginal relief
measures," Nafu said.
The Council of Aboriginal Affairs under the
Executive Yuan is much too low level to
integrate all the relief measures concerning
Aboriginal affairs, he said.
Protesters had planed to march along the
Kategalan Boulevard in front of the
presidential office, but they were blocked by a
heavy police presence. Instead, 12 delegates
went to the presidential office to present their
plea. But their demands were received by
what they considered a low-level official,
Fan-chiang Chun-shen, the director of public
relations office.
Under pressure from the crowd, delegates
then went to negotiate with the Council of the
Aboriginal Affairs. But Hua Chia-chi, chairman
of the council, said most of the problems had
been dealt with.
He said the council had four stations set up
specifically for Aborigines and the cabinet
level Post-disaster Reconstruction
Commission had also formed a task force for
Aboriginal affairs.
"The council prepared an NT$100 million fund
for Aborigines who could not present
collateral when applying for a loan, Hua said.
According to Hua, the main problem was that
Aboriginal-related relief policies were not
sufficiently publicized and explained. "We are
putting more effort into this," said Hua.