In-depth Analysis of the Presence of Aboriginals in National Politics : Political Predicament of Taiwanese Indigenous People

Abstract: Inspired by the barriers to social integration between aboriginals and non-indigenous people in Taiwan, as well as the limitations of representation and participation in national politics, and extending to turn deeply to aboriginal identity recognition and related movements, this dissertation adopts liberalism as grand background and takes scholarly scientific theory constructivism to illustrate the meanings and applicability of discourse analysis method in order to investigate textual materials notably official documents including the Constitution and Acts, press releases as well as academic articles about how those materials describe indigenous peoples. Additionally, through the deployment of practical theories such as (post) colonialism, multiculturalism, representative democracy and deliberative democracy to interpret social and political facts in Taiwan. The author has found that the description of indigenous people in Taiwanese statute through the change from inequitable titles to relatively respectful takes into account the acceptability of aboriginals. The integration of indigenous Taiwanese in society is still persisting and causes troubles for the routine life of aboriginals. Furthermore, it has been observed that the recognition of aboriginal identity hinders the willingness and possibility of indigenous peoples to participate in national politics. Meanwhile, the national global status impact on indigenous peoples has been evident.