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The president of Taiwan has apologized for her country's treatment of aboriginal people.

"If we wish to declare ourselves as a country of one people, we need to face these historical facts. We have to face the truth," Tsai Ing-wen said Monday, according to The Associated Press. She offered a "fullest apology" on behalf of her government.


Tsai's grandmother was from the Paiwan indigenous tribe, 

. She's the first leader of Taiwan with indigenous heritage, according to 

Tsai also announced the formation of a "justice and historical justice commission" to examine the historical treatment of aboriginal peoples.

The statement, in a ceremony attended by representatives of the 16 recognized indigenous tribes of Taiwan, was the first-ever apology by the government to the tribes.


The Dutch, the Chinese and the Japanese each colonized Taiwan. As NPR's Anthony Kuhn 

, the ancestral lands of Taiwan's indigenous people are now owned by the state, and tribal members have limited land rights:



Taiwanese aborigines were hoping that Tsai's presidency would lead to better treatment of their communities. Her inauguration 

 aboriginal people.

An apology was one thing aborigines were looking for, Anthony says. But he notes that Tsai has also promised "to improve indigenous tribes' livelihoods, promote self-governance and protect tribes' languages and culture."  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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"We have to face the truth," Tsai Ing-wen said to representatives of the native tribes of Taiwan. She said her government offered its "fullest apology" for the treatment of aboriginal Taiwanese.

Taiwanese president issues country's first apology to indigenous people

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