Ep 99 | Professor Scott Simon: Taiwan's Indigenous Peoples and Their Connection to Ecology

Oct 19, 2020

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Earlier this year, I spoke with Professor Scott Simon about his research on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. He is a Professor in the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies and Co-holder of the Research Chair in Taiwan Studies at the University of Ottawa. He’s done research in Taiwan since 1996, spent an accumulated 10 years of residence in the country, and published 3 books about Taiwan. We talked about Taiwan as the cradle of Austronesian peoples and culture, and what the designation of a group of people as “indigenous” means from an international law perspective. What’s interesting to me is how Professor Simon’s work invites us to think of Taiwan as a Pacific island nation rather than a renegade province of China.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How Professor Simon got interested in the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
How there were a lot of changes pertaining to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan around 1996
The indigenous people that Professor Simon met while in Taiwan
What brought Professor Simon to Taiwan initially in 1996
How Professor Simon had initially planned to obtain his PhD in China but ended up doing it in Taiwan
How Professor Simon's research on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples and economic development led him to study the ecology and environment, and the study of Austronesian peoples
The connection between the Bhatani Islands of the Philippines and Taiwan
The similarity between the CHamoru language (of the people of Guam) with the Truku language of the Taiwanese indigenous people and Tao language spoken in Taiwan’s Orchid Island
Looking at Taiwan as a Pacific island nation and not just as connected to China
Taiwan’s connection to Guam, Marieta Islands, Carolina Islands, Maori of New Zealand and Easter Island
Book recommendations for people wanting to learn more about Taiwan’s indigenous peoples
The difference between categorizing a group of people as indigenous vs. an ethnic minority
The three nations in Asia that recognize indigenous peoples
The political implications that come with a group of people being declared indigenous