The government is to require schoolchildren in areas where Hakka is widely spoken to learn the language as part of efforts to help the ethnic group preserve its mother tongue, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
The launch of a Hakka radio station on Friday represented a step forward in the promotion and passing down of the Hakka language and culture, Tsai said on Facebook.
The government is now pushing an amendment to the Hakka Basic Act (客家基本法) to list Hakka as a national language, Tsai said.
It would represent an official “upgrade” from its designation as a folk language — the same privilege given to more than 50 languages spoken in Taiwan, she said.
In so-called Priority Development Areas for Hakka Culture, Hakka services are to be provided gradually at government offices, and Hakka is to become a required course in elementary-and-junior-high schools, she added.
The government would firmly support the promotion of Hakka, Tsai said, adding that the language is “the root of the Hakka people and Hakka culture.”
According to a survey commissioned by the Hakka Affairs Council in 2014, about 4.2 million people identified as Hakka, accounting for 18 percent of the nation’s population and forming the second-largest ethnic group after Hoklo.
The council has designated 70 townships and districts in 11 counties and cities where Hakka people account for more than one-third of the total population as priority development areas for Hakka culture, as stipulated in the Hakka Basic Act.
Of the 70 townships and districts, 18 are in Miaoli County, 11 in Hsinchu County and eight each in Pingtung and Hualien counties, as well as in Taoyuan.
There are five areas in Taichung, four in Kaohsiung, three in Taitung County, two in Hsinchu City and Nantou County, and one in Yunlin County.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS