Indigenous people of Taiwan may not be considered Pacific Islanders, but they’re participating in this year’s Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture because of their proximity to other Pacific Island groups and their strong diplomatic relationship with Palau.
Delegates from the island have participated in FestPAC since 2004. Since then, their numbers have grown. This year, 350 people indigenous to Taiwan showcased their culture compared to at least 40 people when they first performed in Palau.
The festival comes at a time of growing tension between the U.S. and its allies and China. Palau has long recognized Taiwan as an independent nation from China. The island nation, which has a compact with the U.S., has blamed China for a recent cyberattack in the country.
Palau was the first country to invite Taiwan to FestPAC due to their diplomatic relationship and recognition.
Ngiraibelas Tmetuchl of Palau’s Ministry of Human Resources, Culture and Development said this will be the 25th year they’ll celebrate their relationship.
It’s been up to each FestPAC host to decide whether to invite Taiwan as a guest. Taiwan has also been invited to festivals in Sāmoa, the Solomon Islands and Guam.
“I’m really that happy that Hawai‘i chose to invite them as well,” Tmetuchl said. “The more the merrier.”
Calivat Gadu, the Taiwan Council of Indigenous Peoples' deputy minister, spoke in Mandarin through an interpreter.
“We are hoping that Taiwan can connect with the Pacific ʻohana through the language and through our culture, and also together to revitalize our own culture,” he said.
Taiwan is a self-governed territory located between Japan and the Philippines. The Beijing government considers it part of China.
Many historical linguists consider Taiwan to be the cradle of the Austronesian language family. Many languages in the Pacific branched off from that family.
But Taiwan’s tribes have been fighting to save their disappearing Indigenous languages. Mandarin was imposed on the tribes by the Kuomintang, a Chinese political party that ruled mainland China between 1927 and 1949.
Gadu, who also speaks Paiwan, said Taiwan’s mainstream society has long discriminated against Indigenous people.
“It felt very painful,” he said. “But now everything has changed after legislation has passed that recognizes us as Indigenous people and also values our culture and language. Now I’m very proud to be an Indigenous person.”
So far, 16 Indigenous tribes have been formally recognized by Taiwan’s government, making up only 2% of the country’s population. According to Gadu, that’s 60,000 people who speak their native tongue fluently.
The tribes include Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan, Truku, Sakizaya, Sediq, Hla'alua and Kanakanavu. These tribes inhabited the island for 1,000 years before the arrival of the Han people.
In 2019, the Taiwan government passed a law that makes the Indigenous languages the national languages.
He said he hopes FestPAC can encourage more engagement with Taiwanese culture.
