方恩格快评》台湾原住民问题 CNN报导失实

CNN最近发表的一篇题为《台湾拥抱原住民 拒绝中国》的报导中，再次漏洞百出，遗漏了好几个关键问题。图为示意。（庄哲权摄）

去年10月，笔者写了一篇关于CNN视频报导的评论，报导中一位CNN记者走访绿岛，并讨论了台湾的白色恐怖时期和随后的民主化。不幸的是，这篇CNN报导内含许多事实错误。

作为观众，我们无从知晓，外媒对台湾的不实报导究竟是为了国内某些政客的利益操弄，还是记者们本身的的拙劣研究。但无论如何，身为阅听众，我们应该警惕这些问题。

美国有线电视新闻网（CNN)最近发表的一篇题为《台湾拥抱原住民 拒绝中国》的报导中，讨论了中国国民党自1945年开始在台湾实行威权统治的期间，是如何「建立威权统治的声誉和灌输『中国化』给当地人」的。当然，国民党在威权统治时期的政策给台湾原住民造成了巨大的苦难，台湾原住民理应得到蔡英文总统在2016年的道歉，并且历史性错误也得以被纠正。

然而，这篇CNN的报导再次漏洞百出，遗漏了好几个关键问题。

CNN报导，台湾第一次直选总统是在1992年，但实际上，第一次直选总统发生在1996年。记者采访谷辣斯•尤达卡，却误称她去年参选花莲市长。 事实上，她参选花莲县长。

CNN报导援引了2016年蔡英文总统对原住民的道歉，并写道「从那时起」，台湾便允许「群体成员在正式文件上使用罗马字符（而非汉字）来登记他们的名字」。事实上，《姓名条例》早在1995年就已修订好，允许可以在户籍登记中使用原住民姓名。

CNN还报导说，在蔡总统向原住民道歉后，「从那时起」，台湾便「在立法机关中为原住民代表保留席位」。事实上，1972年举行的立法委员选举（第一次增额立法委员选举）设立了平地原住民选举区和选出了台湾原住民首位立法委员华爱。随后，原住民立委在接下来的增额立法委员选举中参选，其中包括了1980年增加的山地原住民选举区。

到1992年立法院第一次全面改选时，山地和平地原住民选区各保留了3个席位。在1998 年、2001年和2004年的立委选举中，山地和平地原住民选区各有4个席位。从2008年立委选举开始，2005年的宪法改革将山地和平地原住民选区的席位固定为3席。

诚然，蔡总统对原住民的道歉，对于在汉人和日本人手中遭受如此多苦难的群体来说，是转型正义的一个重要时刻，值得国际媒体报导。

不过，CNN的文章疏忽了蔡政府落实对原住民承诺的讨论。这是在蔡总统道歉后的几年里引起广泛讨论的问题。原住民权益倡导者认为没有采取足够行动的问题包括土地正义、更大的自治权，且政府反对承认西拉雅族和其他平埔族（平地原住民）为官方原住民群体。对于西拉雅族人和其他平埔族人问题，宪法法庭于 2022 年一致作出对他们有利的裁决。

尽管CNN文章的标题是《台湾拥抱原住民 拒绝中国》，但CNN记者并没有讨论为什么原住民选民继续支持国民党而非民进党。拥有全台最多原住民人口数的台东县与花莲县，这两个县从未选出民进党籍县长。民进党在2005年修宪后的最近几届立委选举中，在平地和山地原住民选区中表现不佳，分别在2008年获得零席，2012年零席，2016年一席，2020年两席。

正如CNN对白色恐怖时期的失实报导是对实际受害者及其家属的不尊重一样，CNN对台湾原住民群体的失实报导也是如此。正如笔者之前所写，台湾政客不应该操弄事实，外国记者也不应该参与这种操弄。

（作者为美国共和党前亚太区主席，许淳恩译）

Indigenous Persons Issues Deserve Accurate Reporting

By Ross Darrell Feingold

Former Asia Chairman, Republicans Abroad

Twitter: @RossFeingold

Last October, this author wrote a commentary about a CNN video report in which a CNN journalist visited Green Island and discussed Taiwan’s White Terror period and subsequent democratization. Unfortunately, the CNN report contained multiple factual errors.

As the audience, it is impossible for us to know whether inaccurate reports in foreign media reports about Taiwan are manipulation to benefit certain domestic politicians, or, the result of lousy research by the reporters. Regardless, as the audience we should be alert to these issues.

A recently published report in CNN, titled “As Taiwan embraces its Indigenous people, it rebuffs China” discusses how the Chinese Nationalist Party during its authoritarian rule over Taiwan starting from 1945 “established a reputation for authoritarian rule and a policy of instilling “Chinese-ness” into the local population”. Certainly, the policies of Chinese Nationalist Party during its authoritarian rule resulted in great suffering for Taiwan’s Indigenous persons, and Taiwan’s Indigenous persons deserve the apology delivered by President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016 and for historical wrongs to be righted.

However, once again the CNN report is filled with errors, and, it omits several relevant issues.

CNN reports that the Taiwan had its first direct vote for president in 1992, but in fact, the first direct vote for president occurred in 1996. The author interviews Kolas Yotaka but mistakenly refers to her as having run for “mayor” of Hualien County in last year’s local election, when in fact she ran for county magistrate.

The CNN report cites President Tsai’s apology to the Indigenous people in 2016, and then writes that “since then”, Taiwan allows “community members to register their names with Roman characters (as opposed to Chinese characters) on official documents”. Actually, the Name Act was revised in 1995 to permit the use of an Indigenous name in household registration.

CNN also reports that after President Tsai’s apology to Indigenous persons, “since then”, Taiwan “has set aside seats in the legislature for Indigenous representatives”. In fact, the first seat reserved for an Indigenous legislator occurred in the supplemental Legislative Yuan election held in 1972 when a lowland Indigenous legislative constituency was created and to which Hwa Ai was elected. Subsequently, Indigenous legislators were elected in the following supplemental Legislative Yuan elections, including the addition of a highland Indigenous constituency in 1980.

By the time of the first complete re-election of the Legislative Yuan election in 1992, there were three seats reserved for each of the highland and lowland Indigenous constituencies. In the 1998, 2001 and 2004 Legislative Yuan elections there were four seats each of the highland and lowland Indigenous constituencies. The 2005 constitutional reforms fixed the seats at three each for the highland and lowland Indigenous constituencies starting from the 2008 Legislative Yuan election.

Certainly, President Tsai’s apology to the Indigenous persons was a significant moment in transitional justice for communities that have suffered so much at the hands of the Han and Japanese, and is worthy of international media coverage.

However, the CNN article omits discussion about the Tsai Administration’s implementation of the commitments it made to Indigenous communities. This is an issue that has attracted much discussion in the years after President Tsai’s apology. Among the issues Indigenous persons advocates cite as having received insufficient action are land justice, greater autonomy, and the government’s opposition to recognizing the Siraya and other Pingpu (plains Indigenous) people as official Indigenous groups. For the the Siraya and other Pingpu issue, a Constitutional Court ruled in their favor in 2022 in a unanimous decision.

Although the title of the CNN article is “As Taiwan embraces its Indigenous people, it rebuffs China”, the CNN journalist did not discuss why Indigenous voters continue to favor the Chinese Nationalist Party over the Democratic Progressive Party.The two counties with the largest number of Indigenous persons, Taitung and Hualien, have never elected as county magistrate a non Chinese Nationalist Party candidate. In the recent Legislative Elections after the 2005 constitutional reforms, the Democratic Progressive Party has performed poorly in the lowland and highland Indigenous constituencies, winning zero seats in 2008, zero seats in 2012, one seat in 2016, and two seats in 2020.

Just as CNN’s inaccurate reporting about the White Terror period is disrespectful to the actual victims and their families, the same applies to CNN’s inaccurate reporting about Taiwan’s Indigenous communities. As this author previously wrote, Taiwan politicians should not manipulate the facts, nor should foreign journalists participate in such manipulation.