Indigenous issues – Page 5

Taiwanese Identity and Racism in Taiwan

28 August 2020 Editor

Written by Chieh-chi Hsieh. When the impact of COVID-19 was at its height in Asia this April, the director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, publicly accused Taiwan of continuously attacking him with racist slurs for months. Although these accusations have been proven to be false, with the ongoing Black Live Matters campaign taking place, it does give a good opportunity to reflect on whether racism exists in Taiwan. More importantly, how this contributes to the formation of Taiwan’s identity in the contemporary epoch.

Is Taiwan Covering over Contemporary Issues of Racism with a Veneer of Multiculturalism?

27 August 2020 Editor

Written by Brian Hioe. Over the past four years, it has become a refrain of the Tsai administration to tout Taiwan’s increasing diversity. Namely, given increased immigration to Taiwan from Southeast Asia, one in ten children in Taiwan has a foreign parent. This is a fact that Tsai and members of her administration have taken to frequently citing, often during occasions in which Taiwan is visible on the international stage.

Climate change and the traditional knowledge of indigenous people: what can we learn?

15 July 2020 Editor

Written by Tzu-Ming Liu. Due to Taiwan’s geographical location and geological properties, the country is particularly at risk of the impact of climate change. Some apparent phenomena of climate change are that the frequencies of extreme precipitation events. Furthermore, extreme typhoon intensity is increasing. These phenomena have caused giant landslides, extensive landscape changes, and severe casualties across Taiwan. Many of the giant landslides occurred on the lands inhabited by indigenous peoples, and thus they suffer from the most adverse impacts of climate change. Indigenous peoples are, but not the only, climate victims.

Different Shades of Green: Indigenous Protests Against Solar Energy

14 July 2020 Editor

Written by Daniel Davies. On June 3rd, 2020 Taiwan Sugar Corporation CEO, Chen Zao-yi, travelled south to Pingtung County for the most recent talks surrounding a proposed 230-hectare solar farm project at Xinchi Farm in Wanluan Township. The green-energy project, which is to be built alongside the No.185 County Road, has been at the centre of sustained protests by local residents due to the planned felling of Taiwan’s largest planted forest. The site of the development is within the 10,815-hectare forest planted in 2002 by the Taiwan Sugar Corporation, using 5.2 billions of dollars of state subsidies, after the contraction of the sugar industry caused by Taiwan joining the WTO.

Why Do Taiwan’s Environmentalists Oppose Renewable Energy Facilities?

13 July 2020 Editor

Written by Ming-sho Ho. Upon winning the re-election in January 2020, Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party government is set to realise the goal of abolishing nuclear energy by 2025. At the same time, they wish to raise the proportion of green energy in the electricity mix to twenty per cent. While the dream of “nuclear-free homeland” has been championed by Taiwan’s environmentalists for more than three decades, the top-down push for renewable energy has unexpectedly met some opposition from the same camp.

Breakthrough the thinking of “indigenous music” as a style of music

11 February 2020 Editor

Written by Kuing, GuoTing Lin. Music is in full blossom in Taiwan, as evidenced by the vibrant contemporary Taiwanese music being produced by its indigenous musicians, which has spurred a rich cultural dialogue surrounding their production. Thus, in 2019 a diverse indigenous subjectivity has begun to enter the Taiwanese pop music market through new albums. Hence, it is worth exploring how this phenomenon differed from previous eras when albums were dominated by indigenous languages, and what this new phenomenon offers regarding a reflection of indigenous cultural consciousness.

IMAGINARY REALITY IN WUHE’S ‘THE LIFE THAT REMAINS’

29 January 2020 Editor

Written by Julian Chih-Wei yang. Chen Kuo-Cheng (陳國城) – better known by his nom de plume Wuhe (舞鶴, literally ‘Dancing Crane’) – is a Taiwanese novelist renowned for his experimental, modernist style. His magnus opus, ‘The Life That Remains’ (餘生/Yusheng – officially translated as the ‘Remains of Life’), comprises only one single paragraph that is over two hundred pages long.

Reserved For Whom? The Shifting Dynamics of Indigenous Voting Behaviour in Southern Taiwan

31 October 2019 Editor

Written by Daniel Davis. In next year’s legislative elections both the KMT and DPP are hoping to secure a majority, but after the shock results of 2018 and the growing number of small parties, every seat seems to be contested. The seats held by indigenous legislators, traditionally seen as iron votes for the KMT and pan-blue parties, have also become an open contest and could play a pivotal role in the outcome of the elections.

Indigenous Media in Transformation: Languages and Other Factors in Taiwan

5 September 2019 Editor

Written by Chia Sui, Crystal, Sun. What can indigenous media do in Taiwan? At its best it can strengthen indigenous identities by showcasing tribal heritage, helping to maintain local languages and providing a public sphere for debate about indigenous issues. Indigenous media can also convey significant meaning as an indicator of cultural and societal change.

Critical Women in Seediq Bale: A Response to Professor Chin-ju Lin Concerning Seediq Cultural Politics

4 September 2019 Editor

Critical Women in Seediq Bale: A Response to Professor Chin-ju Lin Concerning Seediq Cultural Politic. Written by Darryl Cameron Sterk. In Seediq Bale men cut these ties asunder; and though I would not expect to find the same division of labour today, my observation is that it is still tends to be women who are trying to keep things together. I relied on Temi Nawi, a former Catholic nun who devoted the last three decades of her life to Seediq education and research, for the material on weaving.

Han Kuo-yu and the Enigma of Taiwan’s Indigenous Politics

3 September 2019 Editor

Written by Scott E. Simon. In the 2018 municipal elections, when Han emerged from the side-lines to become Kaohsiung’s first KMT mayor since 1998, his support was strongest in Indigenous mountain districts. Although he won a relatively modest 53.87% of votes overall, he won 85% of eligible votes in Namasia District, 89% in Taoyuan, and 92% in Maolin. How can we explain the Indigenous zeal for Han?

Government Support Or Private Investment? Developing community-based tourism on Taiwan’s east coast

30 August 2019 Editor

Writen by Giulia Mengato. My research on Indigenous communities in Taiwan shows that the needs and wishes of Indigenous peoples are still considered secondary to those of government. I argue for a more nuanced approach wherein public institutions work alongside local people. Government restrictions should not suffocate community will and should not limit the agency of local people.

« 1 … 3 4 5 6 »