Taiwan’s aborigines demand Lu’s apology

The aborigines vowed to organize a massive demonstration on the streets of Taipei July 24 if the vice president failed to make an apology in three days.

In the wake of the floods and mudslides that hit the mountainous regions in central Taiwan during Typhoon Mindulle, Lu said the disasters were the result of deforestation caused by the aborigines.

She urged the aborigines to move to Central America where she said they could contribute to its agricultural development.

But the aborigines said the natural disasters had nothing to do with them, or their farming on the mountains.

“Taiwan is our home, we’ll never leave it,” said Lin Jung-ching, the aboriginal chief of Hoping Village, which was one of the areas hit hardest by floods and mudslides earlier this month.

“We should not be the ones to leave here for Central America,” he said.

The aborigines said Lu was aiming at an act of “ethnic cleansing” by sending them to Central America to be killed by tornadoes.

Lin also demanded Lu visit the devastated areas in person and try to understand the situation.

Lu did not apologize, saying she was only making suggestions that the aborigines should not be taking too seriously.

She denied she had made any remarks about “ethnic cleansing.”

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