STAFF WRITER
A number of aboriginal groups asked for a chance yesterday to pose questions to the three presidential candidates in tomorrow’s final televised debate for the Jan. 14 presidential election.
Omi William, convener of an alliance that promotes aboriginal rights in the 2012 presidential election, said he “deeply regretted” that the presidential and vice presidential candidates did not even mention their policies on the country’s aboriginal peoples during two previous televised debates.
“This proves that in this presidential election, the special status of aboriginal peoples and their land rights have been ignored,” he said.
He said that he could accept that in the first televised debate, which took place between the three presidential candidates, the media posed questions to them on issues related to the international, diplomatic and cross-Taiwan Strait fronts.
But he said that in the third debate, in which various civic groups will pose the questions, aboriginal representatives have been overlooked and will be absent from the event.
Entertainer Francesca, meanwhile, said that in comparison with the 2004 and 2008 presidential debates, when aboriginal representatives were invited, this year represented a regression in the situation.
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