A national conference on Hakka affairs took place at Fullon Hotel in Taichung City on April 22. More than 250 attendees participated in this meeting, including Lee Yung-de, minister of Hakka Affairs Council; Chiang Chun-lung (江俊龍), head of Hakka affairs at Taichung City Government; Hakka affairs commissioners from counties and cities around Taiwan; representatives of Hakka settlements; Hakka instructors based in Taichung City; and members of Hakka-related organizations.

Minister Lee expressed his expectations for ministers of local Hakka affairs councils, especially those who were newly appointed, to become more familiar with their work of promoting Hakka culture through this conference. He also highlighted three objectives which municipal governments need to work on together: revival of the Hakka, promotion of Hakka usage in daily life, and revitalization of Hakka regions.

The Hakka has been revived and preserved with the assistance of local governments over the years. Minister Lee emphasized it is every official’s duty to keep up the effort. Under the Hakka Basic Act (客家基本法), Hakka is codified as one of the national languages in key development areas of Hakka culture.

In spite of the implementation of the “Hakka in 12-Year Basic Education Curriculum (客語結合十二年國教校訂課程)” program, one hour per week for Hakka lessons at school is not quite enough, Minister Lee pointed out. How to motivate students to speak Hakka in their daily lives is an important mission for authorities, he added. The minister also laid out the future plan for local governments to focus on the promotion of using Hakka, noting that officials should make concerted efforts to encourage local residents to speak Hakka.