The Constitutional Court in Taipei on Friday deliberates on the constitutionality of Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the Status Act for Indigenous Peoples.
Photo: Chang Wen-chuan, Taipei Times

A legal provision that grants indigenous status to people with only one indigenous parent based strictly on their name has been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.

The court took aim at Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the Status Act for Indigenous Peoples (原住民身分法), which states: “Children of intermarriages between indigenous peoples and non-indigenous peoples taking the surname of the indigenous father or mother, or using the indigenous peoples traditional name shall acquire indigenous peoples status.”