Taipei, July 30 (CNA) Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Thursday approved the official recognition of the Siraya as one of Taiwan's Indigenous tribes, making it the country's 17th officially recognized tribe and the first Plains Indigenous group to receive the designation. According to Lee, Cho said the recognition followed the Legislature's passage of the Plains Indigenous Peoples Status Act in October 2025, which responded to decades of advocacy by Plains Indigenous groups seeking official recognition since the 1990s. Eight other Plains Indigenous groups have also submitted applications and are awaiting review by the council, Cho said. Before the Plains Indigenous Peoples Status Act established a legal framework for recognizing Plains Indigenous peoples, Taiwan officially recognized only Mountain Indigenous tribes, as Plains Indigenous groups had long been regarded as having largely undergone Sinicization. Before the Siraya's recognition, Taiwan officially recognized 16 Indigenous tribes: the Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Pinuyumayan, Rukai, Cou, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan, Truku, Sakizaya, Sediq, Hla'alua, and Kanakanavu.