Kawlo Iyun Pacidal (; born 9 April 1977 in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) is a Taiwanese politician and former TV presenter. In January 2016 she was elected to serve in the Legislative Yuan as an at-large legislator on the party list of the

New Power Party The New Power Party (NPP) is a political party in Taiwan formed in early 2015. The party emerged from the Sunflower Student Movement in 2014, and advocates for universal human rights, civil liberties, civil and political freedom, political libe ...

. Kawlo is a member of the Amis tribe of Taiwan's

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

and the cousin of singer

Ilid Kaolo Ilid Kaolo () (formerly ) is an indigenous Taiwanese singer-songwriter of Amis descent. She won the Best New Artist, Best Aboriginal Singer, and Best Indigenous Album at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan with her debut album, ''My Carefree ...

Political career

Kawlo was a founding member of the Amis Defense Alliance, an organisation dedicated to opposing excessive construction on Taiwan's east coast. Kawlo's first electoral experience was in standing for the

Hualien County Council The Hualien County Council (HLCC; ) is the elected county council of Hualien County, Republic of China. The council composes of 33 councilors lastly elected through the 2022 Taiwanese local elections, 2022 local elections on 26 November 2022. ...

as an independent in 2014. She was a candidate in the 6th electoral district (which includes Fenglin, Shoufeng, Guangfu, Fengbin, and Wanrong), and fell 223 votes short of winning a seat. In 2015 Kawlo joined the newly created

(NPP) and was subsequently placed first on their party list for the 2016 Legislative Yuan election. As the NPP polled 6.1% of the vote in the party list ballot, she was duly elected as one of the NPP's two at-large legislators. Kawlo's political positions include pushing for recognition of the independence of Aboriginal tribes and acknowledgment of sovereignty over traditional tribal lands, as well as full enforcement of the Indigenous Basic Act. Upon taking office, Kawlo was assigned to the Education and Culture Committee. In July 2019,

Green Party Taiwan Green Party Taiwan is a political party in Taiwan established on 25 January 1996. Although the party is sympathetic to Taiwanese nationalism and shares a number of centre-left positions with the Pan-Green Coalition, the party emphasizes campai ...

accused Kawlo of securing government subsidies for non-government organizations founded by her former legislative assistant Chen Shih-chang and run by Chen Shih-chang's successor Chen En-tse. Subsequently, the New Power Party voted to suspend Kawlo's membership. Kawlo responded to the allegations by dismissing her legislative staff, and commencing an investigation into the case. The New Power Party's decision to revoke Kawlo's membership was upheld by an arbitration committee on 3 September 2019. Kawlo ran in the

2020 Taiwanese legislative election Legislative elections were held in Taiwan on 11 January 2020 to elect the 113 members of the Legislative Yuan. The elections were held concurrently with presidential elections. The term of the Legislative Yuan began on 1 February 2020. The Dem ...

for a seat in the multimember

Lowland Aborigine Constituency The Lowland Aborigine constituency () is a multi-member constituency of the Legislative Yuan. Taiwanese indigenous people have elected representatives to Reserved seats, reserved legislative seats since the 1970s. Predecessors to both the Lowland ...

on behalf of the , but was not elected.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacidal, Kawlo Iyun 1977 births Living people Amis people Members of the 9th Legislative Yuan New Power Party Members of the Legislative Yuan 21st-century Taiwanese women politicians Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan Taiwanese politicians of indigenous descent