Presidential Office Indigenous transitional justice committee disbands

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) An ad-hoc committee tasked with promoting transitional justice for Indigenous peoples in Taiwan, has ceased operations and its responsibilities have been reassigned to the Executive Yuan, according to the Presidential Office.

The Presidential Office Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee, which last met in May, has completed its tasks after more than seven years of operations, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a press release on Wednesday.

Kuo said President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) instructed the Executive Yuan to continue ongoing work to revive Indigenous languages, promote greater autonomy, and enhance the protection of Indigenous rights, among others.

According to the press release, committee members have convened 21 times over the years, assisting in the government's efforts to promote the work of transitional justice for Indigenous peoples, such as designating Indigenous languages as national languages and improving the access of Indigenous peoples to the health system.

The release said the committee's responsibilities will be handed over to a "promotional committee" operating under the Cabinet since 2006 to ensure better implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law.

Wednesday's announcement means that the Indigenous transitional justice committee under the Presidential Office has effectively disbanded, another Presidential Office spokesman later told CNA.

The committee was established at the end of 2016 shortly after then-President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) publicly apologized for the government's mistreatment of Indigenous peoples in Taiwan over the past four centuries and pledged to make amends.