Rewriting the Hakka Reclamation History of Northern Taiwan

In the 18th and 19th centuries, large numbers of Han Chinese came to Taiwan to settle, giving rise to conflict with indigenous people groups on the island, from whence we get the saying: “The history of your ethnic group is my group’s invasion story.” Since modern times, research into the history of Hakka people in northern Taiwan has been limited by historical data and deep-rooted ideology that largely makes the Han Hakka the focus of the discourse while the indigenous peoples of the plains and the mountains who had close interaction with the Han became forgotten “others.” At the same time, local histories, steles, temple records, village records or anecdotal collections are often mired in racial thinking and unconscious discrimination.

For example, inscriptions that describe indigenous people from the early days of Hakka villages in northern Taiwan commonly appear in the faith center of the settlement -- the temple. In Hakka villages, one reason to build temples was the villagers’ hope that divine power would repel the harassments of indigenous people. Inscriptions relating to indigenous people often used derogatory words usually translated as “barbarian” or “aborigine,” portraying a terrifying image of people that threatened the Hakka.

Given that the Hakka history written previously is transposition thinking of the actual history of aggression faced by indigenous peoples, in order to promote transitional justice and restore history, and to bring about ethnic equality, the Hakka Affairs Council is therefore committed to planning cross-departmental cooperation with the Council of Indigenous Peoples and the College of Hakka Studies at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in promoting the academic project “Tribute to Indigenous Peoples: Rewriting the Hakka Reclamation History of Northern Taiwan,” to encourage more Hakka researchers and indigenous scholars, bringing in the viewpoints of the two groups to readdress together the history of the settlement era, and seeking to reflect on the long-term errors that place Han and Hakka people at the center.