Taipei City Mayor Chen Shui-bian has presented a second gift to the indigenous people of Taiwan--the Commission for Native Taiwanese Affairs. It is the highest level indigenous people's administrative organization in history. Following this move, in mid-May, the Executive Yuan passed the organizational charter for another commission at the central government level.

As soon as construction was begun for the fourth nuclear power plant, objects believed to be Ketagalan relics were unearthed. Nevertheless, the Academia Sinica and the descend ants of the Ketagalan disagree about the details of identification.

The new municipal commission is the result of twenty years of hard work in the private sector on the part of indigenous rights activists. Yet what they must now address are a number of different nearly unsolvable problems met by peoples whose traditions are in decline. And what actions are being planned by Paiwan tribesman Bajack Gilin (Eric Kao), the very first director-general of the Commission for Native Taiwanese Affairs?

What exactly is the standing of Taiwan's aborigines in contemporary society? History cannot possibly erase the indigenous people. Their existence can contribute much to the diversity of society and culture. But at the same time, the indigenous people's basic human rights must be respected. After twenty years of hard work on the part of indigenous activists, these three central points have gradually become commonly accepted in Taipei City. Therefore, Bajack Gilin believes that now is the time to desist from complaining and being emotional, and think about how to solve problems.

As he conceives it, Taipei City's Commission for Native Taiwanese Affairs will have 25 employees, and its purpose will be to execute the policies of the central government. In order to meet the different needs of various ethnic groups to the greatest possible degree and to avoid making the past mistake of applying the same policies to different tribes with different circumstances, 15 of the 22 commission members are representatives of various tribes and regions. These even include ethnic groups besides the nine currently listed as official indigenous peoples, such as the Kavalan, the Taroko and the Shao, because to a large degree they have still preserved their languages and customs.

Nevertheless, can the establishment of a single commission solve all the problems of the indigenous people? Alliance of Taiwan Aborigines president Yukan Nafu maintains a skeptical attitude.

He is worried that because of this development, everyone will gain the wrong impression that the aborigines' problems have all been solved. Politicians will use it to flaunt their administrative achievements, and it will blur society's focus on genuine problems. He believes that the root of the problem should be addressed by creating a body of laws related to indigenous people.

Nevertheless, for twenty years indigenous activists have already been pushing for a basic law on indigenous people; why have there still been no results? Besides the influence of the greater environment, Yukan strongly feels that pressure from within the ranks of the indigenous people is another barrier. Indigenous activists set their goals based on the big picture, at a very high level, but most of the people in the villages only want to make sure their bellies are full. They simply have no interest in politics. Furthermore, there is a large variety of ethnic groups throughout Taiwan province, and they all have different requirements. It is fundamentally challenging to coordinate them as a whole. For these reasons, cohesiveness finally becomes increasingly weak, and resources are insufficient. Internal struggles for privilege are consequently inevitable.

Bajack Gilin has a deep understanding of the fundamental lack of fortitude within the indigenous activist movement. He says that indigenous people's greatest problem has always been "survival." But in the past they did not receive the attention they deserved. The aboriginal population in Taipei City, for example, is currently estimated at 6200. Factoring in the migrant population, the total number may be more than 20,000. Yet under the original administrative structure, all their affairs were handled by a three-person staff at the Native Taiwanese Affairs Office, a division of the city government's Department of Civil Affairs. Of course, the office had no hope of meeting all their constituency's needs.

Since the Native Taiwanese Affairs Office has been upgraded to a commission, the most direct positive effect has been that opportunities for contact with other authoritative agencies have increased dramatically. They can formulate their own budget, and manpower has been increased, so they can more effectively handle problems.

And although passing on indigenous cultural legacies cannot be achieved through political measures, the commission can financially support private indigenous organizations, helping their activities make quick progress and preserving their vitality.

Bajack also contends that the Commission for Native Taiwanese Affairs can help young aborigine intellectuals move from idealism to pragmatism, and motivate them to re-evaluate the slogans which they shout, to consider whether they can fulfill the idea of "survival" and perhaps break through the barriers that hold them back.

For example, when the commission recently held a Mother's Day celebration in Neihu's Tahu Park, he organized students to mail out 2000 invitations. Some letters had to be hand-delivered to those without addresses, and this motivated the recipients to take the first step toward greater involvement. Not only did it shorten the distance between young indigenous intellectuals and ordinary indigenous people, those native Taiwanese who usually hide away at their work sites and do not receive attention could also become the objects of concern.

At the same time, a system of legal protection for aborigines can in fact be achieved within the system. Bajack Gilin believes that this task is inescapably the responsibility of an indigenous peoples' commission at the central level of government. The only problem is that the newly established charter for the Executive Yuan's indigenous peoples' commission includes too many functions which ought to be performed by local agencies, for instance, legal counseling and career guidance. The difference in duties is unclearly defined, which may cause resources to be wasted. He hopes the central government will be able to concentrate its energies on planning an overall course of action.

This is viewed by the Katagalan as a "child god," an emblem of their people. In fact, such images are not their exclusive domain. Wood carvings of the Kavalan stored in the Taiwan Provincial Museum are similar in appearance.

With no regard for other people's doubts, Lin Sheng-yi calls upon extraterrestrials, pyramids and biblical themes to construct the history of the Ketagalan, in which he confidently believes.

After they have come to a realization of their ethnic group's integrity, how should the Ketagalan handle disputes over land that was seized by Han Chinese in the past?