The 2019 National Hakka Conference and Hakka Contribution Awards Ceremony were held in Taipei on Sept. 23. More than 450 representatives from a variety of fields attended the biennial event. Accompanied by Hakka Affairs Council Minister Lee Yung-de, President Tsai Ing-wen presented the accolades to this year’s winners of the Hakka Contribution Awards.

The 2019 recipients include Chu Jen-yih (朱真一), Lin Kuang-hua (林光華), Yang Cheng-nan (楊政男), Chung Yun-Hui Bayin Ensemble (鍾雲輝客家八音團), Hsieh Chi-chiung (謝其煚), Lai Jen-cheng (賴仁政), Lin Sheng-xiang (林生祥), Lee Wan-tang (黎萬棠), and Chiu Shu-chih (邱淑治).

President Tsai expressed her gratitude to the nine laureates for their dedication to Hakka affairs, adding that they are role models for younger generations to admire and follow. She expects that the Hakka, music, arts, and culture will persist and continue to diversify in Taiwan with concerted efforts made by everyone in Hakka communities.

To reaffirm the policies of Tsai’s administration on Hakka affairs, Minister Lee noted that, with President Tsai’s support, the Executive Yuan has approved a budget of NT$15 billion for constructing infrastructure related to Hakka culture for the next four years. Lee also revealed that the first edition of the National Hakka Development Plan (國家客家發展計畫), which will be published next year, will serve as basis for policy implementation at all levels of the government.

Lee highly commended the awardees for their lifelong devotion to Hakka communities, citing lifetime achievement award recipients Chu and Lin as examples. Chu has been promoting the language, history, and culture of the Taiwanese Hakka community across the United States through newspapers, publications, and lectures. As one of the organizers who launched the Hakka Restoration Movement (還我客家母語運動) in 1988, Lin led an effort to revitalize the Hakka by bringing forward legislation on Hakka-related issues during his time as a lawmaker.