Taiwan hoping to release list of Indigenous political victims soon

Taipei, Dec. 6 (CNA) Taiwan's government is hoping to publish by year-end a verified list of Indigenous people involved in postwar political cases, laying the foundation for a four-year transitional justice plan, Cabinet officials said.

The plan, approved by the Cabinet in early November, will be implemented through a cross-ministry effort led by the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP), officials said after a transitional justice meeting chaired by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Thursday.

In the plan's initial stage, efforts will be made to verify the ethnic identities of thousands of political victims to see how many were members of Indigenous groups.

While the former Transitional Justice Commission identified only 66 Indigenous political victims, the CIP is now cross-checking household records to determine potential Indigenous identities among the more than 20,000 victims, officials said.

Once confirmed, the government plans to publish the list with ethnicity details, which it hopes to achieve by year-end, and transfer related cases to the Ministry of Culture to have their oral histories collected, Cabinet officials said.

According to the Cabinet, Indigenous peoples experienced "dual oppression," both under Japanese colonial rule until 1945 and later state violence during the authoritarian period from 1945 to 1992, necessitating a fuller record of their historical experience.

Beyond identifying victims with Indigenous backgrounds, the plan is also aimed at establishing necessary infrastructure, broadening research, and developing restorative measures to address infringements on both individual and collective rights, officials said.

It will focus on investigating postwar rights violations, funding community-led truth-finding efforts, expanding transitional justice education, and preparing a comprehensive truth investigation report, with regular progress reviews, officials said.

Also included in the initiative is a review of past administrative actions taken without Indigenous consent, including public housing projects, mountain access restrictions, and forced relocations, officials said.

A truth report on the demolition of traditional Orchid Island houses, for example, is expected between 2026 and 2027, after which the government will negotiate rights-restoration measures with affected communities, they said.

The CIP will also produce a full postwar Indigenous transitional justice truth investigation report between 2027 and 2028, with the results to inform government policy and be used for educational purposes.