Taiwan’s indigenous people take land rights fight to the heart of the capital
Aboriginal protesters call for the repeal of legislation that they say erodes their right to traditional territory
Taipei’s Peace Memorial Park is an oasis of calm in the bustling city, home to morning walkers and lunchtime strollers – along with a camp of indigenous protesters demanding justice.
For several months, the small group has lived in tents in a corner of the park, with a makeshift kitchen and a cluster of painted rocks, photographs and posters tracing Taiwan’s indigenous history and their fight for land rights.
They want the repeal of a regulation, announced last year, which they say denies their right to ancestral land.
The guidelines are on the delineation of traditional territory and its return to indigenous people. But they are limited to state-owned land and do not include private land, which the group says denies them a sizeable piece of territory.
“We have been betrayed by the government,” said Panai Kusui, an indigenous leader and singer.
“We are the original inhabitants of this island, the collective custodians of all land before the concept of public land and private land. This regulation denies us what is rightfully ours,” she said.