Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

It is almost impossible to read anything that involves the US and China without the phrase “Thucydides trap” popping up.

It is a natural application: The US is an established power, while China continues to rise.

China and Russia seem to have resolved their problems by the creation of buffer states between them, and while conflict between China and India grows, it is more difficult to claim which is the rising power, a determination needed to apply the term.

On the eve of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Sunday, Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) discussed in an interview how to solve discrimination against “indigenous peoples,” saying “more than 80 percent of all Taiwanese might have indigenous ancestry.”

However, Taiwan’s outstanding minister was mistaken, a mistake common among the public.

First, “indigenous peoples” is not a concept based on ancestry or genetics.