Hakka has been made an official national language after the Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to the Hakka Basic Act (客家基本法).
According to the amendment, townships in which Hakka people make up at least one-third of the population are to be designated key developmental areas for Hakka culture by the Hakka Affairs Council, and Hakka is to be used as one of the main languages for communication.
Such areas should strive to bolster the teaching and speaking of Hakka, as well as the preservation of Hakka culture and related industries, the amendment said.
Townships in which Hakka people comprise half the population should make the language their primary method of communication, with relevant regulations to be determined by the council, the amendment said.
A minimum percentage of civil servants in such areas would be required to take Hakka-language examinations, and those who pass would be given an official accolade and exam results would be considered when awarding promotions, the amendment said.
All levels of government should reward exceptional efforts in promoting Hakka language and culture with recognition and awards, the amendment said.
The government is to establish a “Hakka-language research and development foundation,” which would be tasked with research, development, certification and promotion of Hakka nationwide, the amendment added.
The foundation is to establish an archive on Hakka language and should cooperate with local governments, it said.
A Hakka public broadcasting foundation, which would produce national radio and TV programs on Hakka affairs and other matters, should be founded, it said, adding that the government should offer subsidies to broadcasters that create programs in Hakka or on Hakka culture.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chung Kung-shao (鍾孔炤), a Hakka, yesterday said that the act exists not to encourage confrontation, but so that all groups would have their own subjective existence in Taiwan.
All ethnic groups can continue to live in Taiwan together in blissful harmony, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Wu (吳志揚), also a Hakka, said that governmental action regarding Hakka people and the continuation of their culture still fell short of expectations, despite the council and the act.
Wu said he had proposed the amendment and hoped its passage would help preserve Hakka culture and serve Hakka people.
Hakka is a word of Cantonese origin, meaning “guest” (客家). Some genealogies and other records indicate that many of the ancestors of Hakka people were from the northern plains in China and that they moved south in a series of migrations, including to Taiwan.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
RSS