Lin Chiang-yi (; born 30 October 1949), also known as Mayaw Dongi, is a Taiwanese politician. He served as the Minister of the

Council of Indigenous Peoples The Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP; ), formerly known as the Council of Aboriginal Affairs, is a ministry-level body under the Executive Yuan in Taiwan (Republic of China). It was established to serve the needs of the country's indigenous ...

(CIP) from 1 August 2013 until 20 May 2016. He is of Amis descent, one of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan.

Education and early career

Lin obtained his bachelor's degree in law from

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

in 1974. He then obtained his master's degree in ethnology from

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subsequently reestablished in 1954 in Taiwan as the first reestablished "National University". The u ...

in 2004. Upon graduation from his bachelor's degree university, Lin worked as an officer at Yanping Township Office in

Taitung County Taitung () is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island's southeastern coast and also including Green Island, Orchid Island and Lesser Orchid Island. The seat is located in Taitung City. Name While its name means "East ...

in 1977–1980. In 1980, he worked as an officer of the Subsection Chief and Secretary of the Department of Civil Affairs of the

Taiwan Provincial Government Taiwan Provincial Government is the nominal government of Taiwan Province in the Republic of China. Since 2018, its functions have been transferred to the National Development Council (Taiwan), National Development Council and other ministries ...

until 1987. He then moved to the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

where he worked as Specialist and Section Chief of the Department of Civil Affairs in 1987–1996. In 1996–1997, he worked as the Chief Secretary of the Indigenous Peoples Commission of the

Taipei City Government The Taipei City Government is the municipal government of Taipei. History Taipei was known as Taihoku during Japan's rule of Taiwan, which started in 1895. Initially, the city was directly controlled by the Governor-General of Taiwan. In ...

. In 1997, he started to work as the Director of Department of Education and Culture and the Department of Planning of the CIP. After receiving his master's degree in 2004, he worked as the Chief Secretary of the CIP until 2008.

CIP Ministry

Hla’alua and Kanakanvu tribes recognition

Speaking at

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

plenary session in February 2014, Lin said that the Hla’alua and Kanakanvu tribe of

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * of or related to Taiwan **Culture of Taiwan **Geography of Taiwan ** Taiwanese cuisine *Languages of Taiwan ** Formosan languages ** Taiwanese Hokkien, also known as the Taiwanese language * Taiwanese people, residents of ...

can be recognized as the 15th and 16th aboriginal tribes, stating that those two groups are still currently treated as part of the Tsou group of

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Declining of the aboriginal language use

In August 2014, Lin voiced his concern with the declining usage of Taiwan aboriginal languages among the

. He called on the aborigines to put more efforts to reviving their languages, warning that ethnic groups would vanish soon after their languages disappear. He made the remarks after a survey done on the Amis, Bunun, Nataoran, Puyuma, Saisiyat and Thao languages. The survey also revealed that

Puyuma language The Puyuma language or Pinuyumayan (), is the language of the Puyuma, an indigenous people of Taiwan. It is a divergent Formosan language of the Austronesian family. Most speakers are older adults. Puyuma is one of the more divergent of the ...

would be added to the endangered languages list.

References

1949 births Living people Government ministers of Taiwan National Taiwan University alumni National Chengchi University alumni Taiwanese politicians of indigenous descent Amis people {{Taiwan-KMT-politician-stub