Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and National Human Rights Commission Chair Chen Chu met with an Indigenous delegation from the Parliament of Canada July 17 and 16 in Taipei City, pledging to continue enhancing Indigenous culture exchanges and cooperation with the like-minded partners.
Led by Brian Francis, chair of the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, the group comprises David Wells, caucus chair of the Conservative Party in the Senate, and other senators and House of Commons members.
Hsiao said Taiwan and Canada enjoy collaborations in many fields, and their people-to-people exchanges are especially thriving between Indigenous groups, noting that the country’s Indigenous community also participated in the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture held last month in Hawaii with thousands of Pacific counterparts. The vice president added that Indigenous culture plays a key part in the bilateral relationship.
The meeting followed a discussion with NHRC chair and commissioners a day earlier, in which Chen Chu said that on her trip to Canada last October she gained a deeper understanding of Canada’s experience in promoting Indigenous peoples’ rights and policies, as well as ways to restore historical truth for human rights violations. She added that she fully supported the name rectification movement for the Indigenous Hla’alua and Kanakanavu tribes, and had issued certificates of rights restoration for Indigenous reserved lands during her term as Kaohsiung City Mayor from 2006 to 2010.
NHRC Commissioner Pu Chung-cheng further pointed out that Taiwan has formulated regulations to protect ethnic groups’ rights, including the Indigenous Peoples’ Basic Law, the Indigenous Peoples’ Employment Rights Protection Act and the Indigenous Languages Development Act. Other commissioners shared the country’s supportive measures in health and medical care for women and children.
In response, delegation members said the Indigenous community in Taiwan and Canada face similar challenges in cultural revitalization, economic opportunity and government recognition. They anticipated continued work with Taiwan to jointly advance human rights for the groups, the NHRC added.
Chen also took the opportunity to thank the Canadian parliament for supporting Taiwan’s engagement in international organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organization.
Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)
