A Study of Taiwan's Indigenous Cultural Policy－ A Case Study of Traditional Names

Abstract

Throughout more than four hundred years the indigenous people in Taiwan have been ruled by colonial powers and deprived of connections with their traditional names and cultures They have forgotten the names passed on by ancestors and were forced by the government to use Chinese names In 1984 the Taiwan Indigenous People’s Rights Promotion Association led the Name Rectification Movement requesting the government to change the expression “shanbao” (mountain compatriots) and allow them to use traditional names on official documents The movement received great supports from the society; the Legislative Yuan passed the amendment to the Name Act in 1995 allowing indigenous people to use traditional names on national ID cards Name is connected with personal values of a subject entitled with the right of name The reclamation of traditional names serves not merely as a revitalization of the significance of indigenous naming culture but more importantly as respects toward indigenous people’s right to personal name Therefore recovering traditional indigenous names and giving them full rights to their names is a starting point for the government to respect cultural diversity

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English
Supervisor	Jenn-Jaw Soong (Supervisor)