Vice President Chen Chien-jen represented President Tsai Ing-wen this morning (March 12) and led the representatives of the five central government branches and relevant ministries to attend the 2019 presidential tree planting event jointly organized by the Forestry Bureau of the Executive Yuan and the Pingtung County Government. Together with the local tribal chief and elders of the New Laiyi Community, Pingtung County, endemic tree species of Taiwan that symbolize cultural continuity were planted to the music of the Paiwan tribe nose flute and ancient ballads. This year's tree planting event also corresponded with the 2019 International Day of Forests theme "Forests and Education". Through the hand-planting ceremony of endemic tree species, it symbolized the close integration of Taiwan's forests with the indigenous culture. At the same time, it served as the opening ceremony of the establishment of the "Heart of the Tribe - Paiwan Nation School". The Forestry Bureau said that the theme of this year's tree planting event was "extending the island's green life and singing Taiwan's forest melodies", which was the continuation of the "National Ecology Green Network Project" launched by the Forestry Bureau last year. The results of the Central Mountain Range forest conservation will be extended to the shallow mountain plains on the eastern and western sides to establish a complete national green ecological conservation system. Vice President Chen said that New Laiyi Community, which was rebuilt after the Typhoon Morakot disaster, was selected this year as it is the preparatory site of "Heart of the Tribe - Paiwan Ethnic School" promoted by the Council of Indigenous Peoples as part of the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Development Program. The Pingtung County Government will soon be building a venue where the Paiwan people of different generations and age groups can participate in learning together. In the future, the Forestry Bureau will also provide the Ethnic School with forest-related resources and jointly create new values for mountain villages. The incorporation of two important projects demonstrates the effectiveness of the inter-departmental cooperation of the Executive Yuan, as well as symbolizes the mutual integration and symbiosis of natural ecology with the local culture. According to the Forestry Bureau, the endemic tree (bamboo) species planted for this event, such as the blow pipe bamboo, camphor, Formosan Michelia, Zelkova, Taiwan eugenia, and subcostate crape myrtle are used in traditional Paiwan crafts and building construction. While the blow pipe bamboo is a symbol of the Paiwan culture and the representative of the mouth and the nose flute forestry craftsmanship, in addition, it was also used in the past by the Plains indigenous peoples and Han immigrants as windbreaks or land boundaries, and thus have a deep symbolic significance in Taiwan. At the tree planting site, it was also arranged for the children who sang the ancient Taiwu ballads to plant the trees together with the vice president and representatives of the various government agencies. The children of the singing troupe then handed over the soil from the original tribal community on the mountain before the typhoon to the vice president, and then the vice president covered the soil on behalf of everyone, to symbolize that the spirit of the old tribe has been injected into the land, and that the Paiwan ethnic cultural education will also continue to bear fruit together with the endemic trees. The Forestry Bureau said that this year, specially invited were the National Treasure elders Jin Xian-ren, Xu Kun-zhong, and Xie Shui-neng, who are master performers and craftsmen of the Paiwan flute and nose flute, as well as singer and nose flute performer Sauniaw Tjuveljevelj, and the children of the Taiwu Ancient Ballads Troupe which won the Golden Melody Awards. Together, the music of the flutes and the ancient ballads portrayed the harmonious coexistence between man and nature. The local tribal priest was also invited to the site to pray for blessings. Through the songs sung by the children of the Taiwu Ancient Ballads Troupe, we witnessed the legacy of the indigenous people's mountain forest culture and hope that such beautiful forest culture can speak to the rest of the world. The Forestry Bureau emphasized that the mountain knowledge and cultural experience of the indigenous people is a unique asset of Taiwan. For example, the Paiwan people's twin-pipes nose flute made from the blow pipe bamboo, which was also planted today, has created a unique ethnic music culture. Forest and culture complement each other perfectly, just like ecological environment protection, we need everyone's participation and protection, so that these beautiful mountain cultures can be preserved and continued, and realize the vision of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
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