A meeting of the preparatory committee for the exposition was held on Oct. 6 in Taoyuan, joined by HAC Deputy Minister Chung Kung-chao (鍾孔炤) and Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦).
Deputy Minister Chung said that the inaugural World Hakka Exposition will be held in Taoyuan—the premier gateway to Taiwan. He thanked the Taoyuan City Government for hosting the committee meeting during the coronavirus pandemic, expecting the team to solve difficulties with the Hakkas’ spirit of perseverance.
Chung said that holding the exposition signifies the rediscovery of Hakka culture, adding that the new Hakka cultural movement will start from Taiwan, and Taoyuan shall play a leading role in promoting Hakka culture.
The Deputy Minister said while the World Hakka Exposition will present the experience of Hakka people from all over the globe integrating themselves into local cultures, Taiwan, as the place where new Hakka cultural movement begins, will demonstrate in the expo contemporary Hakka artistic creations other than native Hakka traditions.
Aiming to make Taiwan a cultural capital for the international Hakka community, the World Hakka Exposition is inviting Hakka associations from many countries on five continents to participate in this event to showcase Hakka histories, stories, and leading figures from around the world as well as the unique characteristics inspired by local cultures in different countries.
In addition, Taiwan’s key development areas of Hakka culture will also be invited to join in the exposition to display the Hakka development trajectory on Taiwan Romantic Route 3 in northern Taiwan, in the Liudui region of southern Taiwan, and along the Provincial Highway 9 in eastern Taiwan.
New technology will be applied to interpret Hakka traditions, innovation, and diversity of the ethnic group’s globalization and localization, building up the network between Taiwan and the overseas Hakka communities and raising the international profile of Hakka. It is expected that the expo serve as a platform for the ethnic group’s cultural exchanges to strike up a conversation with the world based on the core value of Hakka culture.