At its meeting on June 3rd, the Cabinet approved a draft bill of the proposed Statute for Aboriginal Autonomy. This was followed by a gathering for "the promotion of Aboriginal autonomy and a new partnership," in which cabinet members met with representatives of various Aboriginal peoples in Taiwan. Representatives of all 11 Aboriginal groups in Taiwan attended, wearing traditional attire and performing songs and dances in celebration, and there were also Aboriginal ritual prayers for good fortune for the nation. At the event, Premier Yu Shyi-kun declared that the government's debt to the Aboriginal peoples is enormous and that the indigenous peoples, who have always been part of this land, deserve greater autonomy and enlarged powers. The bill reflects substantial respect for the Aboriginal peoples' desire to establish autonomous areas, yet it does not attempt to shoehorn all Aboriginal groups into a single framework.

Provisions of the bill would allow Aboriginal groups to establish single- or multiple-group autonomous areas based on tribal identity, and these zones would be recognized as legal entities. The jurisdiction of any autonomous zone would be required to take into account various factors such as the geographic distribution of the various tribes, history, culture, inter-ethnic relations, and (for multi-tribe zones) geographic proximity.

The bill also stipulates that residents of autonomous areas will enjoy equal rights in participating in political, economic, social, educational and cultural affairs, and are entitled to equal treatment. In order to encourage comparable levels of development among zones, the government will provide subsidies to those areas with less financial resources. To respect the right of self-government of Aboriginal peoples, appropriate laws should be created so land within the jurisdiction of autonomous areas can be placed under the management of the zone. Disputes over the division of powers between the central government and autonomous zones are to be decided by a vote in the Legislative Yuan. Disputes between two or more autonomous zones, or between autonomous zones and local governments, are to be decided by the Executive Yuan.

The government proudly declares this bill to be "the first of its kind in four centuries." But Chen Chien-nien, chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Affairs, warns that three major problems will have to be faced: land issues, conflicts between use of natural resources in the zones and existing laws (such as national park laws), and autonomous zone finances.

Responding to a question about these problems, Minister without Portfolio Chen Chi-nan (whose brief includes Aboriginal affairs) states that it will largely be up to each tribe to decide whether or not they will establish an autonomous area. It will be easier to promote the zones for those indigenous peoples who live in a clearly circumscribed area and have a reasonably large population. Thus it is likely that the groups with the best opportunity for early establishment of autonomous zones will be the Tao (who live exclusively on Orchid Island), the Paiwan, the Tsou, and the Rukai. A government assessment suggests that Orchid Island (also known as Lanyu) will very likely be the site of the first Aboriginal autonomous zone. In contrast, there are more obstacles to the creation of self-governing areas for those Aboriginal tribes who live across widely scattered areas, and small tribes also face difficulties. Thus, although there are 11 recognized Aboriginal peoples in Taiwan, there will not necessarily be 11 autonomous regions.

Most Aboriginal opinion leaders welcome the new draft law, but they also warn that the autonomous zones could end up as empty shells unless they have stable sources of revenue and sufficient, trained manpower. Tseng Chih-yung, director of the Pingtung County Bureau of Aboriginal Affairs, says that in general there is a shortage of indigenous people with the skills necessary to run an autonomous administration, and local governments, while supportive in principle, have many reservations about the plan. Also, many existing laws-such as those governing construction, water and soil conservation, environmental impact assessments, and forestry management-all impinge on Aboriginal rights. If these are not substantially modified, the autonomous zones will be dead on arrival.

Eric Chu, the KMT chief executive of Taoyuan County, which has a large Aboriginal population, believes that under conditions in which Aboriginal populations are extensively mixed with Han Chinese population, any attempt to forcibly implement autonomous zones will only aggravate ethnic frictions.

There are also some strong opponents of the draft legislation within the DPP itself. Yang Cheng-shan, who is now in his fourth consecutive term as chairman of the DPP party organization in Nantou County, notes that in designated Aboriginal rural townships like Wulai (Taipei County), Hoping (Taichung County), and and Hsinyi (Nantou County), "lowland immigrants" (ethnic Chinese) now outnumber indigenous people. But because of the longstanding regulation that only indigenous people can run in elections for the mayors of Aboriginal rural townships, the local Han Chinese have been excluded from running for this office, which is a violation of democratic principles.

The bill for the Statute on Aboriginal Autonomy is expected to be on the agenda in the next session of the Legislative Yuan. Everyone will be watching closely to see whether legislation can be worked out that everyone can find acceptable.