Tao people

The Tao people (Yami: Tao no pongso) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the tiny outlying Orchid Island of Taiwan. They have a maritime culture, with great ritual and spiritual significance placed on boat-building and fishing. Their ways of life have been threatened by the continued emigration to the mainland of Taiwan in search of jobs and education. As a result, the continuation of past traditions has been hindered. Despite being linked to both other Taiwanese indigenous peoples and Batanicindigenous Filipino populations, the Tao people remain unique in their customs and cultural practices.

The Tao people have been more commonly recorded under the exonym "Yami people" by official documents and academic literature, following Japanese anthropologist Torii Ryuzo's coining of the name in 1897. Internally the Tao people have no consensus over the two names, so Council of Indigenous Peoples of the Taiwanese government uses both names side by side.

Citing threats to their culture and health, the Tao people have protested against the nuclear waste plant constructed on their island by the government in 1982 and advocated for its removal.