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Taiwan leader apologizes to indigenous people for first time
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Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen formally apologized to Taiwan's indigenous people for their centuries of suffering on Monday.
Tsai, the island's only leader with aboriginal blood, will personally head a committee to investigate past injustices as part of government efforts to ease tensions with the native community.
"I apologize to the indigenous people on behalf of the government, to give our deepest apology over the suffering and injustice you endured over the past 400 years," she said in speech.
"We need to look at history seriously and speak out the truth," she said, adding that apologizing was "another step forward."
Hundreds of aboriginals staged protests in Taipei over the weekend, calling for protection of their hunting rights and demanding concrete actions from the government.
The indigenous community makes up about 2 percent of Taiwan's 23.5 million people.
Tsai pledged to increase autonomy and rights for indigenous people during her election campaign, which saw her democratic progressive Party win a landslide victory in January.
Earlier Monday, tribe members invited to witness Tsai's speech burned millet stalks as part of a ceremony calling out to ancestral spirits to join them.
She then greeted the representatives from each of the 16 recognized tribes, who wore their traditional tribal clothing.
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