On July 30, Taiwan’s Executive Yuan officially recognized the Siraya as the nation’s 17th officially recognized Indigenous group. An official ceremony was held to mark the recognition and name rectification of the Siraya. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che attended the ceremony to witness this historical event and pay tribute to the community members and elders, cultural workers, and academic experts who persevered throughout the decades-long process. Huang expressed that the Siraya people had fought to rectify their name for decades and had finally achieved this monumental result. The achievement is a source of pride for the community and marks an important milestone for equal rights and transitional justice in Taiwan.
Huang said that the Tainan City Government had stood alongside the Siraya people for many years on this journey, which was made possible through the efforts of many individuals. During the terms of former Tainan County Magistrate Su Huan-chih and former Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te, the Siraya were already recognized by the local government as a city-recognized Indigenous people. The pursuit of equality has been a long and difficult journey. Huang thanked everyone who had participated in the arduous process and expressed his hope that the other eight Pingpu Indigenous peoples currently seeking official name rectification would also eventually succeed.
The Tainan City Indigenous Peoples Affairs Commission explained that Tainan is the first local government in Taiwan to promote name rectification of the Siraya people since the city is an important place of origin of Siraya culture. In 2005, the former Tainan County Government recognized the Siraya as a county-recognized Indigenous group. After the merger of the former Tainan County and City, the Tainan City Government continued to launch various initiatives related to Siraya cultural preservation, language restoration, the transmission of traditional rituals, education, and community development. Tainan was also the first city in Taiwan to announce the Tainan City Regulations for the Revitalization and Development of the Siraya People. Currently, 29 schools across the city offer Siraya language courses, and the Tainan Municipal Sinhua District Koupi Experimental Elementary School is Taiwan’s first elementary school with a special focus on Siraya language and cultural revitalization.
The Commission pointed out that today’s official recognition and name rectification of the Siraya was the hard-won result of decades of effort. Since the 1990s, the Siraya community has been fighting to revitalize its culture, restore traditional night ceremonies, and develop language education. The local government eventually established a system to support these efforts, and the community members continued to seek constitutional protection through judicial means. The Executive Yuan’s formal recognition of the Siraya not only fulfills the spirit of Taiwan Constitutional Court Judgment No. 17 of 2022, but also demonstrates the nation’s acknowledgment of the Siraya’s historical status and Indigenous identity. It marks a key milestone in protecting Indigenous rights and advancing transitional justice.