According to the United Daily News, the Central News Agency and the Taipei Times, the Executive Yuan recognized the Siraya in July, a year after the Plains Indigenous Peoples Status Act took effect, and 1,336 people had completed registration by the end of September. The Council of Indigenous Peoples says it will speed up recognition of other plains groups.
According to the Council of Indigenous Peoples, 1,336 people had completed Siraya (西拉雅) plains Indigenous status registration as of the end of September, and 12,178 had applied to be listed on the Siraya roster. The Central News Agency reported that the figures and next steps emerged when the Legislature's Interior Committee heard a report from the council on October 14. The roughly 1,300 figure in some coverage appears to refer to these 1,336 people; not every applicant has obtained status.
광고 문의 · 300×250The Executive Yuan recognized the Siraya as a plains Indigenous group on July 31, and applications for roster listing and registration opened on August 13. The Taipei Times reported that the first to complete registration were Mai Fang-chi and her daughter in Tainan, witnessed by Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che, and described the Siraya as Taiwan's 17th officially recognized Indigenous group and the first plains group.
How the law came about and who qualifies
The basis is the Plains Indigenous Peoples Status Act, which cleared its third reading in the Legislature on October 17, 2025 and took effect on promulgation on October 23. The council says its purpose is to protect plains groups' demands for proper recognition of their names and identity rights. Previously the government recognized mainly highland groups, while plains groups struggled to be recognized because they were seen as largely Sinicized.
The Taipei Times reported that applicants, or their direct ancestors, must have been registered as plains or assimilated Indigenous people under Japanese rule (1895 to 1945) and recorded as living in Siraya areas. Those who cannot meet this may submit other evidence of Indigenous ancestry from that era. Tainan City has recognized the status of assimilated peoples under its own practice since 2005. Early coverage said 10 of the first 12 applications reviewed met the requirements, but an overall approval rate was not given in the latest figures.
Other groups are lining up. The Central News Agency reported that nine groups have applied since the law took effect, including the Siraya, Taivoan, Makatao, Taokas, Kaxabu, Basay, Pazeh, Pazzaz and Ketagalan. Applications from the Basay, Kaxabu and Taokas are being prepared for a committee of experts and scholars, and the Taivoan are about to see draft membership criteria announced. The council says it will speed up recognition and registration.
The key questions now are the pace of review and what rights registrants gain. What institutional benefits and cultural-preservation support registrants will receive, and how other groups' criteria will differ from the Siraya's, were not addressed in the coverage reviewed. One year after the law took effect, balancing restored identity against administrative burden is likely to be the next challenge.
