Step toward Orchid Island autonomy to be taken in September
ROC Central News Agency
2016/08/15 23:03:28
Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) The process of implementing autonomy on the offshore Orchid Island has been accelerated following a visit there by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday.
Following a talk between Tsai and people on the island, Council of Indigenous Peoples head Icyang Parod said the government will issue a decree in September giving the island the legal status of a "public entity" to effectively kick off a process toward the island's autonomy.
Orchid Island, also known as Lanyu, is inhabited by indigenous Tao people who have sought greater autonomy over their own affairs. The island is currently under the jurisdiction of Taitung County.
The indigenous Tao people's self-rule was one of the two major issues discussed between local elders and the president, officials accompanying Tsai on the visit said.
Locals urged Tsai to lead efforts to legislate the island's self-rule because they wanted to make sure a future change of governments in Taipei will not affect their legal status as autonomous citizens, they said.
They also urged the government to post staff members on the island to better understand their actual needs.
Some Tao members demanded complete self-rule, including territorial and financial independence and a police force controlled by people on the island, the officials said.
In response, the president said six villages on the island can implement their autonomy as a legal "public entity" -- or more formally a "juristic person" -- and gradually expand and deepen the autonomy, according to the officials.
(By Tyson Lu and S.C. Chang)
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