Kharis Templeman
中文姓名:祁凱立
  • Home
  • CV
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Blog
  • Taiwan Studies Resources

Indigenous Legislators on Indigenous People's Day

7/31/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Election banner for Yosi Takun (孔文吉), running in the Mountain Aborigine District for the January 2016 Legislative Yuan Election. Photo taken in Wulai, New Taipei.
August 1 is Indigenous Peoples' Day in Taiwan--a day that usually passes without much media attention. This year is different: President Tsai Ing-wen is planning to issue a formal apology on behalf of the Republic of China government to Taiwan's indigenous peoples and to outline her government's indigenous policies. That has now become a partisan issue. Five of the six aborigine (原住民 yuanzhumin) district representatives in the current Legislative Yuan are going to skip the event; the only one to attend is the only district DPP member, Chen Ying (陳瑩). The other two legislators, Kolas Yotaka (谷辣斯·尤達卡) of the DPP and Kawlo Iyun Pacidal (高潞·以用·巴魕剌) of the NPP, are both party list legislators, and so have to take their own party line into greater account. 

Although they're often overlooked in writing about Taiwan's electoral politics, Taiwan has reserved seats in the Legislative Yuan for aborigine representatives since 1972. Today, representatives from these districts hold more than 5% of the total seats in the legislature (6/113)--if they were all part of the same party, they would be the third largest in the LY, ahead of both the NPP and PFP. For anyone interested in learning more, I have a CDDRL working paper on the history of these seats and the evolution of aborigine representation in the Legislative Yuan. The abstract is below. 

The Aborigine Constituencies in the Taiwanese Legislature

The Republic of China on Taiwan has long reserved legislative seats for its indigenous minority, the yuanzhumin. While most of Taiwan’s political institutions were transformed as the island democratized, the dual aborigine constituencies continue to be based on an archaic, Japanese-era distinction between “mountain” and “plains” aborigines that corresponds poorly to current conditions. The aborigine quota system has also served to buttress Kuomintang (KMT) control of the legislature: the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and “pan-indigenous” parties have been almost entirely shut out of these seats. Nevertheless, aborigine legislators have made a modest but meaningful difference for indigenous communities. The reserved seats were initially established during the martial law era as a purely symbolic form of representation, but during the democratic era they have acquired substantive force as well. Taiwan’s indigenous peoples have not always been well-served by their elected legislators, but they would be worse off without them. 
0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    About Me

    I am a political scientist with research interests in democratization, elections and election management, parties and party system development, one-party dominance, and the links between domestic politics and external security issues. My regional expertise is in East Asia, with special focus on Taiwan.

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    August 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    1992 Elections
    2008 Elections
    2012 Elections
    2014 Elections
    2016 Elections
    2020 Elections
    Aacs
    Aborigines
    Alex Tsai
    Annette Lu
    Announcements
    Apsa
    Apsa Cgots
    Arthur P Wolf
    Blog Meta
    Campaign Regulation
    CCP
    CDDRL
    Chang Ching Chung
    Chang Chun Hsiung
    Chen Chi Mai
    Chen Shui Bian
    Chen-ying
    Chiang Ching Kuo
    Chiang-kai-shek
    Chin Hui Chu
    Chuang Suo Hang
    Citizen 1985
    Conferences
    Control Yuan
    Council-of-grand-justices
    Cross-party-negotiating-committee
    Cross Strait Relations
    CSSTA
    Defense Spending
    Developmental State
    Diplomacy
    Disinformation
    DPP
    DPP Policy Papers
    Eats
    Economic-voting
    Electoral Geography
    Electoral Reform
    Electoral Systems Wonkery
    Eric Chu
    Executive Yuan
    Fellowship
    Freddy Lim
    Germany
    Han Kuo Yu
    Han Kuo-yu
    Hau Lung Bin
    Hau Pei Tsun
    Henry Rowen
    Hoover Institution
    Hou You-yi
    Hsieh Sam Chung
    Huang Kuo Chang
    Huang Kuo-chang
    Huang Shih Ming
    Hung Hsiu Chu
    Hung Tzu Yung
    Hung Tzu-yung
    Influence Operations
    In Memoriam
    Internship
    James Soong
    Jiang Yi Huah
    Job Market
    John Wu
    Journal Of Democracy
    Kawlo Iyun Pacidal
    Ker Chien Ming
    Kmt History
    Kolas-yotaka
    Ko Wen Je
    Lai Ching-te
    Legal-wonkery
    Legislative Yuan
    Liang-kuo-shu
    Liang Su Jung
    Lien Chan
    Lin Hung Chih
    Liu Kuo Tsai
    Lo Chih Cheng
    Lu Hsiu Yi
    Ma Vs Wang
    Ma Ying Jeou
    Media
    Media Freedom
    Min Kuo Tang
    Natsa
    NCC
    New Power Party
    Nuclear Power
    Occupy LY
    Pingpuzu
    Political Economy
    Political Science
    PRC
    Publications
    Public Opinion
    Ramon Myers
    ROC Constitution
    Sean Lien
    Security Studies
    Shen Lyu Shun
    South Korea
    Stanford
    Statistics
    Street Protests
    Su Jia-chyuan
    Sunflower Movement
    Taiwanese Economy
    Taiwan Journal Of Democracy
    Taiwan People's Party
    Taiwan Solidary Union
    Taiwan Studies
    Taiwan World Congress
    Testimony
    The Diplomat
    This Week In Taiwan
    Ting Shou Chung
    Trade Relations
    Trans Pacific Partnership
    Tsai Ing Wen
    Tseng Yung Chuan
    Tzu Chi
    Uscc
    V-dem
    Wang Chien-hsien
    Wang Jin Pyng
    Wei Yao Kan
    Wellington Koo
    Wild Lily Movement
    Wu Den Yi
    Wu Yung Hsiung
    Xi Jinping
    Yang Shi-chiu
    Yosi Takun
    Yu Shyi Kun

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.