Icyang Parod, Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples, chaired a "Taiwan Sugar Corporation Land Purchase Forum" today (January 8) in Hualien County, and personally inspected the land requested for purchase by the Heping Tribe in Shoufeng Township before the meeting. These lands were acquired by Taiwan Sugar Corporation in 1946 from the Japanese colonial-era sugar cooperatives. Many of these lands were originally used by indigenous peoples but had been leased long-term from Taiwan Sugar Corporation. With the support of the Executive Yuan, the Council of Indigenous Peoples has budgeted for the purchase of these lands. The ownership transfer registration is scheduled to be completed by the end of December this year (2024), returning 1.44 hectares of land to indigenous peoples to safeguard their housing and land rights. There are 22 households in Hualien County covering an area of approximately 0.7 hectares, and a purchase budget of NT$51 million.

Minister Icyang delivered the following speech:

"Today's forum is mainly for the indigenous people present here today, who are currently leasing and utilizing land from Taiwan Sugar Corporation. With the support of the Executive Yuan, the Council of Indigenous Peoples has already allocated funds this year to purchase Taiwan Sugar Corporation land, and will soon return the land ownership to everyone.

As early as 1988, Taiwan's indigenous peoples initiated the first "Land Return" movement. I was the commander-in-chief of that movement. The second point of the declaration of that movement, as well as the fifth point of the declaration of the second movement in 1989, was "demanding that the land occupied by Taiwan Sugar Corporation be returned to indigenous peoples as reservation land" – an important demand. Today, that land is finally going to be repurchased by the government and returned to the indigenous peoples after 35 years of struggle.

On August 1, 2016, Indigenous Peoples' Day, President Tsai Ing-wen apologized on behalf of the government to the indigenous peoples and announced the establishment of the Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee. The following year, in June 2017, during the second committee meeting of the Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee chaired by the President, the historical process of Taiwan Sugar Corporation acquiring land was included in the investigation. In December of that year, during the fourth committee meeting, discussions were held and instructions were given based on the investigation results.

Building upon the facts investigated by the Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee, the Council of Indigenous Peoples planned the Taiwan Sugar Corporation Land Purchase Project to further accelerate the government's return of land rights to indigenous peoples. The project was approved by the Executive Yuan on July 27 last year. The estimated cost of the entire project is about NT$95 million. The lands currently leased by indigenous peoples from Taiwan Sugar Corporation in Taitung County, Hualien County, and Pingtung County, which also meet the relevant regulations for expanding and designating indigenous reservation lands, will be designated as indigenous reserve lands, comprising an area of approximately 1.44 hectares and accommodating over 50 indigenous households. There are 22 households in Hualien County covering an area of approximately 0.7 hectares, and a purchase budget of NT$51 million.

The Legislative Yuan also reviewed the budget of the Council of Indigenous Peoples for the year 2024 last November. With special thanks to the support of the legislators, which facilitated the smooth passage of the budget, the Council of Indigenous Peoples expects to complete the ownership transfer registration by the end of December this year and return the land to everyone."