China loophole: Why Taiwan relies on Indigenous diplomacy
| Taipei, Taiwan
Ulung Lupiliyan remembers feeling nervous as he stood in front of a classroom, more than 6,600 miles away from home, preparing to give a lecture to about 40 students at the University of French Polynesia on the island of Tahiti. It was Fall of 2018, and he was nearing the end of a 20-day trip spent hopping from one tropical island to another, visiting Indigenous communities, cultural centers, and even a tattoo festival.
As he started presenting on contemporary Indigenous issues in Taiwan, Mr. Lupiliyan鈥檚 anxiety dissipated. The students were curious about him and his people, and shocked by similarities between their languages.
Mr. Lupiliyan left the classroom feeling more connected to Polynesian people and culture, but it wasn鈥檛 just personal interest that brought the graduate student to Tahiti. Taiwan鈥檚 government helped pay for Mr. Lupiliyan and 11 other members of the Paiwan people to travel to French Polynesia as part of a broader strategy to maintain the country鈥檚 presence on the international stage.
Why We Wrote This
How does diplomatically pinched Taiwan maintain a presence on the world stage? In a creative but somewhat controversial strategy, the island has leaned on Indigenous communities.
Taiwan鈥檚 1971 expulsion from the United Nations ushered in a new era of increasing diplomatic isolation, and all but 15 countries have cut ties with the island as China鈥檚 economic and political clout has grown, threatening Taiwan鈥檚 autonomy. Meanwhile, Indigenous communities have become an international relations lifeline; they are Taiwan鈥檚 sole representatives to the UN, and last month, Taiwan made headlines as a founding member of the Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement, a first-of-its-kind multilateral trade deal that includes countries such as New Zealand and Canada. Cultural exchanges like Mr. Lupiliyan鈥檚 Tahiti trip also help expand and cement Taiwan鈥檚 influence in the Pacific region.
Critics worry the Republic of China 鈥� Taiwan鈥檚 formal name 鈥� is exploiting its Indigenous communities without necessarily improving their economic conditions or cultural welfare, but others say that Taiwan has been forced to lean on its Indigenous heritage for the security of all the island鈥檚 residents.
鈥淭aiwanese society has a unique phenomenon: It isn鈥檛 sure exactly where its roots lie,鈥� says Yapasuyongu Poiconu, member of the Tsou people and head of the Comprehensive Planning Department at Taiwan鈥檚 Council of Indigenous People (CIP), the highest Indigenous institution in the country. 鈥淚ndigenous diplomacy isn鈥檛 traditional diplomatic activity. It鈥檚 a form of soft diplomacy that鈥檚 built on a personal foundation with other people, a way of fostering mutual understanding.鈥�
Finding Taiwan鈥檚 Roots
While the majority of Taiwanese people descend from Han Chinese settlers that began coming to the island in the 17th century, people had been living in Taiwan for thousands of years prior. Their descendants make up nearly 3% of the island鈥檚 current population, about half a million people. There are 16 Indigenous groups recognized by the government, with the largest being the Amis, the Atayal, and the Paiwan.
Indigenous communities were largely left out of Taiwan鈥檚 rapid economic development during the 1980s and 鈥�90s, and today, surveys show Indigenous people are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to receive a higher education. In 2020, the average gainfully employed Indigenous person made 75% of the monthly wages of their non-Indigenous counterparts, according to a CIP report.
The cultural picture is arguably as stark. UNESCO classifies at least five of Taiwan鈥檚 16 Indigenous languages as critically or severely endangered, with the rest described as vulnerable. This is the result of specific assimilationist policies carried out by first the Japanese and then the Chinese Nationalist Party, including suppression of Indigenous languages, restrictions on traditional ceremonies and rituals, and the encouragement of migrations to urban areas far from their traditional lands.
An Indigenous economic and social justice movement emerged in the 1990s, as Taiwan democratized and began distancing itself from mainland China, setting the stage for greater Indigenous participation in state affairs. According to Mr. Poiconu, this shift also coincided with the growing salience of Indigenous issues around the world.
At the same time, linguist Robert Blust鈥檚 鈥淥ut of Taiwan鈥� theory 鈥� that Taiwan was the source of all Austronesian languages stretching from Madagascar to Hawaii 鈥� was becoming popular.聽Huang Shu-mei, a professor at National Taiwan University in Taipei who studies Indigenous heritage, says this idea 鈥渞eoriented Taiwan鈥檚 imagined geography,鈥� converting it from a society rooted in Chinese colonization to one embedded in the greater Pacific. The concept of a connected, Austronesian people has since become the bedrock of Taiwan鈥檚 Indigenous diplomacy efforts. From 2002 to 2007 the CIP organized the Assembly of Austronesian Leaders, and in 2016 the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen established the permanent Austronesian Forum. They鈥檝e also invested in economic development and cultural exchange programs throughout the South Pacific.
Robert Andrew Blust, Encyclopedia Britannica
However, it鈥檚 unclear if that Austronesian identity really exists beyond Taiwan. Officials and exchange participants from other supposedly Austronesian nations are often unaware of what the term means, and don鈥檛 necessarily see themselves even as 鈥淚ndigenous,鈥� says Professor Huang.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a tendency to extend linguistic connections to other types of connections,鈥� she says, adding that the Taiwanese 鈥済overnment has been more than happy to go along with this misunderstanding because it can make its policies more successful.鈥�
What is clear is that Austronesian diplomacy has become entrenched in Taiwan, and the state benefits by using Taiwan鈥檚 unique heritage to secure its position in the region. But some argue these efforts have little impact on the island鈥檚 Indigenous communities.
A win-win strategy?
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 seen much development in Indigenous industry or trade,鈥� says Daniel Davies, a Ph.D. candidate researching multiculturalism and Indigenous representation at National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Given the inequalities in Taiwan鈥檚 labor force, Mr. Davies argues that Indigenous families are less likely to directly benefit from international trade agreements like the IPETCA. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have the luxury of thinking about these things,鈥� he says.
Another inherent tension in Austronesian diplomacy is the contradiction between using Indigenous identity to strengthen a state that has yet to undergo decolonization.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 government is still a colonial government,鈥� says Mr. Lupiliyan, the Paiwan man who鈥檚 participated in several exchange activities sponsored by the government. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also true to an extent that the government is using the colonized to protect its international position.鈥�
But he still believes the main beneficiaries are Taiwan鈥檚 Indigenous people.
Assimilationist policies caused many traditional ceremonies and art forms to disappear in Taiwan. Austronesian diplomacy offers all Taiwanese a way of reconnecting to the island鈥檚 history, and exchanges allow Indigenous people to learn from cultures related to their own. 鈥淲hen we go abroad, these countries and their cultural activities provide a blueprint for our own cultural revitalization,鈥� he says.
Still, not all cultural exchanges are created equal 鈥� Mr. Lupiliyan had been on several government-backed trips before the 2018 exchange in Tahiti, but says that one was unique because it was planned entirely by the Indigenous participants, all young Paiwanese people from the Taimali Creek area in southeastern Taiwan. He says this experience helped him realize Indigenous people can use Austronesian diplomacy, rather than the state, to represent their communities, and 鈥渢hat we could hold more autonomy on a local, community level.鈥�
Done well, he says Austronesian diplomacy can offer a window into what it could look like to live in a society where Taiwan鈥檚 Indigenous people have been 鈥渕ainstreamed,鈥� and are no longer a minority on the margins.
