Taiwan Television has launched a 24-hour channel called the Indigenous Television Network (ITV). The Taipei Times announced July 1 that ITV will broadcast news and educational programming focused on Taiwan's indigenous peoples' issues. Taiwan's Council for Indigenous People, which wrote the plan for ITV, stipulated that 70 percent of the broadcast staff be indigenous. Since many of Taiwan's indigenous people live in mountainous regions, the Council for Indigenous People is installing satellite transmitters in remote villages to promote channel access. Despite the new transmitters, many indigenous households will not be able to receive the station because they lack basic television equipment.
Indigenous groups, who constitute two percent of Taiwan's population, have previously faced discrimination and lack of representation in Taiwan's mainstream media. ITV aims to dispel stereotypes about Taiwan's indigenous people, express minority viewpoints, and help to preserve Taiwan's indigenous cultures by broadcasting in indigenous languages and featuring indigenous art forms. The Taipei Times says that ITV is the first channel in Asia devoted to indigenous broadcasting.
