Kolas Yotaka (born 17 March 1974) is an Amis Taiwanese politician and journalist. From 2020 to 2022 and again in 2023, she served as spokesperson for the Office of the President under Tsai Ing-wen. Kolas previously served as spokesperson for the Executive Yuan in 2018, the first Taiwanese aboriginal to hold the position.

Kolas Yotaka
Kolas in 2016
Spokesperson of the Office of the President
In office
31 January 2023 – 28 June 2023
Serving with Lin Yu-chan, Gao Zun
PresidentTsai Ing-wen
In office
20 May 2020 – 17 July 2022
PresidentTsai Ing-wen
Preceded byTing Yun-kung
Succeeded byGao Zun
Spokesperson of the Executive Yuan
In office
16 July 2018 – 19 May 2020
Prime MinisterWilliam Lai
Su Tseng-chang
Preceded byHsu Kuo-yung
Succeeded byEvian Ting
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 2016 – 15 July 2018
Succeeded byChiang Chieh-an
ConstituencyParty-list ( Democratic Progressive Party)
Personal details
Born
Yeh Kuan-lin

(1974-03-17) 17 March 1974 (age 50)
Hsinchu, Taiwan
NationalityTaiwan
Political party Democratic Progressive Party
EducationTunghai University (BA, MA)
ProfessionJournalist

As a journalist, Kolas has worked as a reporter for Formosa Television and as a news anchor for the Taiwan Indigenous Television. Kolas went on to become the director for the Aboriginal People's Administration of the Taoyuan City Government. In 2016, she was elected as an at-large legislator and an aboriginal affairs representative of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). In 2017, she was elected as a visiting scholar of the US Department of State's International Leadership Program.

Name

edit

The Pangcah people (aka Amis people) use patronymics or matronymics. Kolas' grandfather received the Japanese name Yoshinari during Japanese rule, and her father followed the tribal system with the name Yoshinari Yutaka (吉成豐). After Japanese rule ended, the "Yo" sound was converted to the Chinese surname Yeh (葉) by the KMT government, which assigned the surname to the family as part of its Sinicization policies.[1][2][3] Kolas followed the system by using her father's given name as her second name, and thus got the name Kolas Yotaka.[4] 

Initially, only her Han name Yeh Kuan-lin (Chinese: 葉冠伶) was legally recognized. She changed her legal name on her household registration to her indigenous name in 2006, after new legislation made it possible for indigenous people to do so.[1][5][6] She uses the romanized Kolas Yotaka rather than the Han transcription (谷辣斯·尤達卡).[7]

Early life

edit

She was born in Hsinchu City and belongs to the Amis Harawan tribe of Yuli, Hualien County.[8]

Journalism career

edit

After completing her studies, she worked as a program producer and reporter on PTS and FTV. She also worked at weekly business magazine, Harvard Business Review and other magazines, as well as CNN Interactive English.[9] She translated the book Routes: Travel and Translation the Late in Twentieth Century by anthropologist and historian James Clifford to Chinese.

From 2005 to 2013, she served as the assistant, producer and anchor at Taiwan Indigenous Television. She also served as the interview leader and the anchor for the English news. She was responsible for logistics, special planning, documentary filming and international news interviews. In 2007, while she was a producer and anchor of "Indigenous Peoples Evening News," the show received an Excellence in Journalism award. It was also nominated for the award in 2008 and 2011.[10]

In 2014, she began producing and hosting the weekly international news program "Mata! See the World".[11] She also produced 14 documentaries on indigenous activism. This series is called "Indigenous Movements". Several of her documentaries were nominated for and received a range of awards. "Wounds of Sami" was nominated for the 2012 Award for Excellence in Journalism,[12][10] "The Death of Wufeng" won the silver at the 2013 Nepal International Aboriginal Film Festival,[13][11] and "Fight for the Island-Punsu No Tao" was nominated for the 2014 International Uranium Film Festival in Rio.[14]

Political career

edit

Kolas served as the director of the Aboriginal National Administrative Bureau of the Taoyuan City Government, the Ninth Legislative Yuan (representing the Democratic Progressive Party), and spokesperson for the Executive Yuan.

Aboriginal National Administrative Bureau of the Taoyuan City Government

edit

At the end of 2014, Cheng Wen-tsan, then mayor of Taoyuan City, appointed her as the first female director of the Aboriginal Administration of the Taoyuan City Government; and revised the name of the institution which has been used for 14 years to “Indigenous Peoples Administration Bureau”. It took effect on March 11, 2015, and required the name card to include aboriginal scripts.[15]

Legislative Yuan

edit

In the 2016 general election, Kolas was elected as a legislator under the DPP. The Citizens Congress Watch rated her as an outstanding legislator in the Third Session. Sometimes she writes her legislative reports in Amis language.[16]

On the eve of International Mother Language Day in 2016, Kolas promoted “mother language justice”,[17] and proposed amendments to the “Names Regulations”[18] and “Public Officials' Choice of Law”. It suggested that the name of the National Identity Card of the Republic of China can be used without Chinese characters, so other writing systems (such as tribal language orthography) can be used to register the name.[19] It is possible to include both aboriginal languages and Chinese documents together on the election gazette.[20] In mid-December of the same year, the draft Act on the Development of the Languages of Indigenous Peoples was proposed.[21]

In May 2016, Kolas, Chen Chi-mai, and 17 other legislators proposed a bill to abolish the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission.[22]

On 20 May 2016, 18 legislators including Kolas and Chen Qimai proposed the Draft Amendment to Article 16 of the Immigration and Immigration Law, which was passed on November 1, 2016.[23][24]

On 5 September 2016, Kolas visited the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. She was the first Taiwanese aboriginal legislator to meet with the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama was very interested in the Amis sash on Kolas. He said that President Tsai Ing-wen's apology to the aborigines was "very good, it is a trend".[25] On the following day, the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan held their first press conference in Dharamsala.[26]

On 15 February 2017, Kolas accompanied a Taiwanese-Tibetan family to the Executive Yuan to submit a request;[27] on the 20th of the same month, the Ministry of the Interior's Immigration Department abolished the principle of "collective review of the application for residence of Tibetan spouses holding Indian travel permits" and established  “following the Nationality and Immigration Act, Article 16, Item 4, Tibetan residents who have changed their nationality and hold Indian travel permit can apply for stay in Taiwan”.[28]

On 23 April 2017, the Ministry of the Interior, at the request of Kolas, canceled the ceremony of the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor, and the Central Government would no longer send representatives of the Ministry to attend the Zheng Chenggong Festival, breaking a 54-year political convention and reflecting Taiwan's change in attitude to identity and multiculturalism.[29]

On 17 June 2018, Kolas was invited by the Hawaiki Project (an Indigenous social initiative) to seek funding from the Council of Indigenous Peoples to allow New Zealand Māori children to come to Taiwan on 23 August 2018 for a 10-day origin trip and participate in traditional tribal ceremonies; and at the same time plan in mid-February 2019, allow Taiwanese aboriginal children go to New Zealand to experience Maori culture.[30]

Executive Yuan spokesperson

edit

Because of her August 2014 drunk driving record,[31] she has expressed her willingness to serve as an anti-drunk driving volunteer for life.[32][33] KMT members of the Legislative Yuan argued with the social consensus of the "zero tolerance" policy for Kolas to be dismissed.[34][35] Ho Hsin-chun, the head of the Democratic Progressive Party Committee, believes that a person who admits their mistake should be given the opportunity.[36]

On 15 August 2018, when President Tsai Ing-wen passed through Los Angeles, she visited the local 85°C store. Therefore, 85 °C was bombarded by Chinese netizens as a “Taiwan independence enterprise”.  85 °C immediately issued a statement that they “Support the 1992 Consensus”. Kolas Yotaka said she "sympathize 85 °C very much" and also strongly condemns the use of self-righteous ideology in specific countries to suppress free markets and international companies.[37]

On 22 August 2018, the Ngāti Manu tribe of the Maori in New Zealand visited Taiwan for a cultural trace. After arriving in Taiwan, the traditional leader (rangatira) Arapeta Hamilton led the team to the Executive Yuan to thank spokesperson Kolas Yotaka, expressing their excitement in finding a link between Maori culture and Taiwanese aboriginal culture.[38][39][40][41]

On 20 September 2018, at the invitation of Bilung Gloria Salii of the Republic of Palau, she participated in the "25th Anniversary Conference of the National Women's Conference" as the guest speaker. She was the first representative of the Taiwanese government to ever attend the conference.[42][43][44][45]

Presidential Office spokesperson

edit

Kolas was the spokesperson from the President's Office from May 2020 to July 2022, when she resigned to unsuccessfully campaign for the governorship of Hualien during the 2022 Taiwanese local elections[46]

In 2023, she was appointed again as spokesperson, but resigned in July in response to allegations that she was involved in an affair with a married policeman assigned to her security detail during her governorship campaign.[47]

Personal life

edit

In 2007, she was in a relationship with politician Icyang Parod.[48] 

In March 2018, lawyer Jewel Chen implied online that Kolas was cohabiting with politician Icyang Parod, so Kolas sued her for defamation. On October 3, 2018, the Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutors Office pointed out that since representation of the electorate is elected by the public, the handling of public affairs, whether private or honest, will affect the purity and credit of the public office, so it must be criticized by the outside world. Even if there is a need for private inspection, it should be publicly available. In this matter, since it was implied, the lawsuit was dropped.[49][50][51][52][53] On 6 October 2018, Kolas requested assistance from the Legal Aid Foundation with lawsuit. This action was subsequently criticized as a misuse of Legal Aid resources.[54][55][56][57][58][59]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Kolas專訪-關於成長. 台灣新社會智庫 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2018-01-05. Archived from the original on 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  2. ^ Chiu, Wen-hsiu 邱文秀 (2018-07-14). Yotaka是父親日本名 Kolas曾說「光復」是痛苦開始. 中時電子報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  3. ^ Sumiki, Hikari 栖來光 (2018-08-01). Kolas Yotaka的「豊」絕非「夜鷹」——從姓名標記事件思考多元社會和文化. Nippon.com (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  4. ^ Yen, Chen-kai (2015-11-10). 民進黨不分區 原民Kolas Yotaka、鍾孔炤列安全名單. 風傳媒 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  5. ^ Yang, Stephanie; Shen, David (2023-05-02). "Some Indigenous people in Taiwan want to drop their Chinese names: 'That history has nothing to do with mine'". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Chang, Li-kuo 張理國; Hsieh, Chin-fang 謝錦芳; Teng, Po-jen 鄧博仁 (2018-08-06). 旺視界 》Kolas小革命 為原民正名. 中時電子報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  7. ^ Chen, Chun-hua 陳俊華; Su, Lung-chi 蘇龍麒 (2018-07-12). 名字堅用羅馬拼音 政院新發言人:盼大家適應. 中央社 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  8. ^ Yang, Chun-hui 楊淳卉 (2018-07-13). 人物特寫》曾任原民台主播 正名爭取認同. 自由時報 [Liberty Times Net] (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  9. ^ Yen, Chen-kai 顏振凱 (2018-04-05). 「強烈地震躲桌下急撥電話」谷辣斯憶記者生涯 「快狠準」非常受用. 風傳媒 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  10. ^ a b Chen, Chen-hua 陳貞樺 (2014-02-26). 【活動預告】原民台主播、製作人Kolas Yotaka:Mata!原民新聞之眼. 臺大新聞e論壇 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  11. ^ a b 【Mata 活動報】你想像中的原民新聞應該長怎樣?讓原民台當家國際新聞主播 Kolas 來解答!. Mata Taiwan (in Chinese). 2014-03-01. Archived from the original on 2018-07-30. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  12. ^ 第十一屆卓越新聞獎 : 電視類評審實錄(上). 卓新獎 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 7 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  13. ^ Hsieh, I-an 謝懿安 (2014-03-05). 臺大新聞e論壇: 族人的口、族人的眼:原住民新聞人Kolas. 臺大新聞e論壇 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-07-30. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  14. ^ "Fight for the Island – Punsu No Tao". International Uranium Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  15. ^ Wang, Yeh 網爺 (2015-03-11). 桃園"原住民族行政局" 上路. 原傳媒 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  16. ^ Chen, Han-chih 陳漢墀 (2018-02-14). 數位網路報: Kolas Yotaka除夕發布「期中報告」, 全文阿美族文字書寫!. 數位網路報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  17. ^ Hsiao, Ting-fang 蕭婷方 (2016-06-30). 綠委Kolas推原民「正名」9成6原住民贊成. 自由時報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  18. ^ Huang, Kuo-liang 黃國樑 (2017-10-20). 內政部:姓名條例修正 中文登記原則不變. 好房網News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  19. ^ Umas Suqluman (2018-04-01). 立委盼晶片身分證 用羅馬字登記族名. Yahoo奇摩 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  20. ^ 世界首創!世界母語日前夕立委提草案,讓原民不再需用中文寫自己的名字. Mata Taiwan (in Chinese). 2016-02-22. Archived from the original on 2018-07-30. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  21. ^ 議事暨公報管理系統. lci.ly.gov.tw (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  22. ^ 質詢覺安慈仁 Kolas感嘆:物換星移. 自由時報 (in Chinese). 2016-06-20. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  23. ^ 中華民國立法院. 議案系統-議案查詢明細. misq.ly.gov.tw (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  24. ^ 流亡藏人在台過「非人生活」 盼行政院處理. 公民行動影音紀錄資料庫 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2016-10-21. Archived from the original on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  25. ^ Lin, Kuan-miao 林冠妙 (2016-09-05). 達賴喇嘛會Kolas Yotaka :蔡英文向原住民道歉很好 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  26. ^ 西藏台灣人權連線代表團:新成立人權網絡將加強支持西藏-達賴喇嘛西藏宗教基金會. tibet.org.tw (in Chinese). Archived from the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  27. ^ Hsia, Hsiao-hua 夏小华 (2017-02-15). 台藏家庭与人权团体赴行政院陈情. Radio Free Asia (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  28. ^ Hsiao, Ting-fang 蕭婷方 (2016-11-01). 流亡藏配在台依親、居留成問題 促政府專案援助. 自由時報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  29. ^ Chen, Yu-fu 陳鈺馥; Hung, Jui-chin 洪瑞琴 (2017-04-23). 打破54年慣例 中樞不再主祭鄭成功. 自由時報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  30. ^ Hsiao, Chao-ping 蕭照平 (2018-07-11). 新南向/紐國毛利部落來台尋根 原民立委加巧思. 中央廣播電臺 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  31. ^ 臺灣臺北地方法院刑事103交簡2475號 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  32. ^ Chiu, Wen-hsiu 邱文秀 (2018-07-14). Kolas認酒駕 很後悔希望大家都不要發生相同錯誤. 中時電子報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  33. ^ Chen, Chieh 陳頡 (2018-07-14). 準發言人曾酒駕!法官斥「漠視法令」 網酸:千杯再千杯. TVBS News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-07-21. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  34. ^ Lin, Liang-sheng 林良昇 (2018-07-17). 立院國民黨團要求 Kolas應比照江春男請辭. 自由時報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  35. ^ 藍委高喊 「酒駕零容忍、從內閣開始做起」. 快點TV (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2018-07-17. Archived from the original on 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  36. ^ Lin, Ho-ming 林河名 (2018-07-19). 政院發言人Kolas初登場 院會剛好報告原鄉醫療. 聯合新聞網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  37. ^ Tsai, Chieh-fan 蔡潔凡 (15 August 2018). 行政院發言人Kolas:同情85°C 譴責中國以意識形態打壓企業. Newtalk (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  38. ^ Hsieh, Li-hui 李欣芳 (2018-08-22). 紐西蘭毛利族來台尋根 kolas激動落淚. 自由時報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-23. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  39. ^ 紐西蘭毛利族部落來台尋根 感謝Kolas促成. 新聞網 (in Chinese). Zhōngyāng Tōngxùnshè. 2018-08-22. Archived from the original on 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  40. ^ Hsieh, Li-hui 謝莉慧 (22 August 2018). 部落交流!毛利族學生賣力在政院舞唱 Kolas感動落淚(影). Newtalk (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-08-23. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  41. ^ Chang, Li-kuo 張理國 (2018-08-22). 南島一家親 毛利青少年訪問團抵台尋根. 中時電子報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  42. ^ Li, Hsin-fang 李欣芳 (2018-09-20). 赴帛琉演說 谷辣斯︰感謝你們挺台灣. 自由時報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  43. ^ Hsieh, Li-hui 謝莉慧 (19 September 2018). 史上首例!行政院發言人Kolas受邀帛琉演說感謝支持台灣. Newtalk (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  44. ^ Wu, Fu-hsin 吳馥馨 (2018-09-19). 拚外交!行政院發言人Kolas以官方身分赴帛琉演說. 聯合新聞網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  45. ^ Kolas受邀帛琉演說:太平洋把我們緊緊連在一起. 民報官網 (in Chinese). 2018-09-19. Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  46. ^ "Indigenous Taiwanese governor hopeful challenges dynastic rule". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  47. ^ "Kolas Yotaka resigns after report on alleged affair - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  48. ^ 質詢和備詢... 昔日戀人在立院重逢是否尷尬? [Questions and Enquiries... Is It Embarrassing for Former Lovers to Reunite in the Legislative Yuan?]. 自由時報 [Liberty Times Net] (in Chinese). 2016-05-20. Archived from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  49. ^ Chen, Chih-hsien 陳志賢; Chang, Li-kuo 張理國 (2018-10-04). 影射谷辣斯同居 原民律師不起訴. 中時電子報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  50. ^ Chien, Li-chung 錢利忠 (2018-10-03). 為原民政策槓上谷辣斯·尤達卡 律師陳采邑不起訴. 自由時報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  51. ^ Chen, Chih-hsien 陳志賢 (2018-10-03). 律師批原民政策挨告 檢「打臉」谷辣斯·尤達卡. 中時電子報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  52. ^ Lai, Pei-hsuan 賴佩璇 (2018-10-04). 「立委感情可公評」 Kolas告律師不起訴. 聯合新聞網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  53. ^ Lu, Chih-ming 呂志明; Yu, Jen-wen 游仁汶. "2018-10-03" 批谷辣斯.尤達卡為同居人背書 公益律師不起訴. 蘋果日報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  54. ^ Huang, Yen-cheng 黃彥誠 (2018-10-06). 谷辣斯濫用法扶? 包正豪轟她:最糟糕的原住民政客. 上報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  55. ^ Lin, Wei-sung 林惟崧; Tai, Chi-hsiu 戴祺修 (2018-10-06). "Apple Daily" 谷辣斯申請法扶告法扶律師 黨內同志:不相信她沒錢請律師. 蘋果日報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  56. ^ Lin, Wei-sung 林惟崧; Tai, Chi-hsiu 戴祺修; Cheng, Hung-ta 鄭鴻達; Ting, Mu-chun 丁牧群 (2018-10-07). 月入20萬立委 用免費資源打官司 谷辣斯找法扶 告法扶前律師. 蘋果日報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  57. ^ Chou, Chih-hao 周志豪 (2018-10-06). 谷辣斯申請法扶告法扶律師 蔡正元:太那個了. 聯合新聞網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  58. ^ Cheng, Ling 鄭舲 (2018-10-07). 被控濫用施壓法扶 谷辣斯喊冤. 中時電子報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  59. ^ 申請法扶告法扶律師?包正豪怒批Kolas:把荒謬進行到底. 今日新聞 [NOWnews] (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2018-10-06. Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
edit