Do Canadian power-sharing agreements with first nations peoples hold lessons for Taiwan?

Abstract

On 23 September 2010, the government of Taiwan moved closer to establishing a legislative framework for the negotiation of power sharing agreements with the nation`s aboriginal groups when the Cabinet decided to approve the Indigenous Peoples Self-Government Act. Although the Act still awaits passage by the Legislature, many stakeholders in aboriginal self-rule are optimistic about this latest move. Others say the legislation lacks teeth. In many of its policy initiatives, the ROC government has looked abroad for a blueprint, and Canada is the Western country that is often promoted as a viable model to follow in this regard. The purpose of this paper is to contrast the historical and cultural influences of each nation`s relationship with its indigenous population and, given these variances, identify potential roadblocks to Taiwan`s successful implementation of a viable mechanism for deriving aboriginal self-government agreements based on the Canadian example, as well as to propose policy recommendations on what direction relevant legislation should take.