| Summary: | 博士 === 國立政治大學 === 民族研究所 === 102 === The dissertation explores the evolvement of Taiwan’s policy towards aboriginal peoples to analyze the current state of Taiwanese aboriginal peoples and the current policy in the three aspects of ethnicity, languages, and livelihood.
The development of Taiwanese aboriginal peoples and the evolvement of Taiwan’s policy toward aboriginal peoples have been profoundly influenced by political and social reforms in Taiwan and the Indigenous Rights Movement. The “February political reform” in the parliament in 1996 resulted in the establishment of the Council of the Indigenous Peoples (CIP), setting a new milestone to Taiwan’s policy toward aboriginal peoples. In 2000, the DPP came to rule an began a critical period for the policy toward aboriginal peoples to become institutionalized. Among the established policies, the policies relating aboriginal ethnicity either personal or ethnic, languages, and livelihood are highly related to the key issues for the contemporary development of Taiwaneses aboriginal peoples.
Ethnicity specifically refers to an officially certified status both for a person and for one’s own ethnic group. A certified aborigine must be a member of a certified aboriginal people. It is the first step of government administration and also where the policy-related payments are based on. To maintain ethnic boundries among individuals, consanguinity and familism (adopting the surname of the aboriginal parent or using an aboriginal name) are the principles for ethnicity certification. As to the policy for ethnic certification, it is based on ethnological theories and tries to find or distinguish the differences among ethnic groups to maintain ethnic boundries among aboriginal peoples. Along the way, abolishing the “familism” principle and discussing the issue on Pingpu aborigines have been proposed. Also, the trend of ethnic certification goes that subjective identity overrides objective criteria, which is a key factor impacting the boundries of aboriginal individuals and ethnic groups.
Language is the top objective criterion to define ethnic boundries, serving as a crucial basis to distinguish one’s own ethnic group and the other peoples, and as the last line of defense in increasingly integrated aboriginal society. Pressures from mainstream society made aborigines re-examine the core value of aboriginal development, further drawing up plans for revitalizing aborignal languages. The following has made people pay close attention to aboriginal languages in aboriginal society: that the Accreditation Test of Aboriginal Language Proficiency for Adults began in 2001, aboriginal languages are taught at school, the 9-Year Integrated textbooks for aboriginal languages have been edited, the writing systems of Taiwanese aboriginal languages have been announced, the Accreditation Test of Aboriginal Language Proficiency for Students has been held, and the plans for editing several aboriginal language dictionaries and revitalizing endangered aboriginal languages have been implemented. To encourage creative writing in aboriginal languages and broaden the way for the development of Taiwanese aboriginal languages, the government established the Awards for Creative Writing in Aboriginal Languages, which has been meaningful.
Livelihood traces the changes of the economic life in increasingly integrated aboriginal society, covering the aspects of immigration, jobs and ways of earning a living. Impacted by other domestic workers, foreign workers and the industrial policy, the unemployment rate of aborigines has been higher than that of other Taiwanese citizens. To promote employment in aboriginal communities, the government not only makes new laws and revises related regulations, but also puts forth policies with the aim to spur the economic development of aboriginal communities. It might attract aborigines back home and slow the rate of outward migration. Further, aboriginal languages and cultures could be passed down.
Overall, the policy toward aboriginal peoples aims to protect aboriginal peoples’ livelihoods. Only certified aborigines enjoy various resources provided by the policy. On the other hand, language is a crucial criterion for maintaining ethnic boundries. Thus, policies of aboriginal ethnicity, languages, and livelihood are important factors in the contemporary development of aboriginal peoples.
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