As part of a worldwide campaign, a group of Ping Pu lowland indigenous peoples held a ceremonial event in the heart of Taipei on Thursday to demand equality, social justice, and an end to what they say are discriminatory policies of the Taiwanese government.

The event was organized to commemorate the United Nations Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples, held annually on August 9 since 1994. This year, the emphasis is on pressing state governments to support the passing of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples later this year.

Indigenous groups in more than 25 countries are participating in the campaign which was initiated by the Netherland-based non-governmental organization the Netherlands Center for Indigenous Peoples.

Activists and leaders from the Ping Pu lowland indigenous communities came together at the event to urge the government and the society to respect their collective rights as an ethnic group and to give the group official status as "indigenous peoples."

Around 20 people participated in the rally and later went to the Presidents Office and the Ministry of Interior to press their demands with petition letters.

Elders from the Ketagalan community （the Ping Pu indigenous group in the greater Taipei area） conducted a traditional blessing ceremony, but later made angry remarks complaining of what they called a negligent attitude and unfair treatment by the government.

"Our land was taken away by past colonial governments. Our language and much of our culture has been lost due to assimilation by the Han Chinese. We are still here fighting for our survival and fighting against discrimination after all these years," said Pan Huei-an, a Ketagalan elder from the Beitou area of Taipei.

"President Chen and the DPP administration cannot just sit and do nothing. We demand the same equal rights and social support as other ethnic minority groups in this country. They must restore our status as indigenous peoples, which we were classified as under the Japanese colonial rule, but the title was taken away by the KMT administration in the 1950s," he added.

Another participant went further, saying "President Chen and the DPP administration promote affirmative action and special rights for Hakka, mountain indigenous peoples, and other minority groups, but have refused to help the Ping Pu peoples. It is racial discrimination, and a gross violation of the rights of indigenous peoples," said Chia Tek-khiam, a Ping Pu rights activist from the Makatao community of southern Taiwan.

"We call on the world to ask the government to end this oppression against the Ping Pu peoples," Chia continued. "We are a very weak and marginalized group that was once the majority population in this country, but we are now facing extinction. If the government continues to ignore us and does not help to restore our indigenous peoples status, then it will be responsible for a genocide against the Ping Pu peoples."