languages are not understood or familiar to the general public, only using
indigenous languages to register indigenous names would pose challenges
for communication and identification in the public and private sectors, thus
running the risk of mistakes. Therefore, the government urges caution.89
75. Recommendations: It should be noted that the Indigenous Languages
Development Act and the Development of National Languages Act both
recognize Indigenous languages as national languages. However, the
requirement to register names not solely in indigenous languages 90 but
mandatorily in conjunction with Mandarin Chinese infringes upon the
rights and interests of indigenous peoples. This forces Indigenous people to
seek judicial remedy91 to assert their right to use their own language. The
government should adhere to the explicit provisions of the covenant and
declaration to safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples to choose their own
language and practice their traditions and customs. It should refrain from
enforcing assimilation or integration in any form. Additionally, appropriate
measures should be taken to develop and implement training programs to
enhance the professional competence of the relevant government officials.
L. Right to work
(a) Indigenous peoples
89
90
Response from the MOI dated March 21, 2023.
Article 2 of the Indigenous Languages Development Act stipulates that “the terms used in this Act are defined as follows:
I. Indigenous languages refer to languages traditionally used by indigenous ethnic groups as well as characters and
symbols used to record such languages.” This legislative rationale makes clear that since the era of Dutch rule, various
systems, including the Roman alphabet, Japanese kana, and the phonetic symbol system, have been used to record
indigenous languages in Taiwan. On December 15, 2005, the Council of Indigenous Peoples and the Ministry of Education
jointly announced the Formosan language writing system as a common writing system for Indigenous languages, all of
91
52
which fall within the scope of Indigenous languages.
Taipei High Administrative Court (2021) Case No. 1084 ( 北 高 行 110 訴 1084), and (2021) Case No. 1140 ( 北 高 行 110 訴 1140)
are currently pending before the Taipei High Administrative Court; both involve household registration matters.