The Cabinet's new Hakka Comm-ission (客家委員會) is expected to hold its founding ceremony today, realizing one of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) campaign promises.
The president has appointed lawyer Fang Kuang-chun (
Su also announced the appointment of Liu Yung-pin (劉永斌) as the commission's deputy head. Liu is currently president of the Taiwanese Hakka Association of the World (世界台灣客家聯合會).
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Fang, a national policy advisor to the president and a noted attorney, once served as a member of the president's advisory group on cross-strait relations, a member of the Judicial Reform Foundation and helped Chen draft national policies during the presidential campaign.
Fang has maintained a close relationship with Chen ever since Chen was Taipei's mayor.
But while Fang's political credentials and professional background are unassailable, some observers yesterday said that they were worried about his lack of previous involvement with Hakka affairs.
A former leader of the Hakka movement, Chung Chau-cheng (
However, he hoped that Fang would later demonstrate his enthusiasm in promoting the Hakka culture.
Echoing Chung's view, DPP legislator Hsu Chung Pi-hsia (
Nevertheless Wu Poh-hsiung (
In addition, Wu said that the commission should focus on preserving the Hakka language, religion and its folklore, "preferably by setting up academic research programs to further study Hakka culture."
"I hope the president will soon found the I-ming University [
Chung, the Hakka movement's former chief, said he expected the commission to coordinate with all Hakka groups in the country to promote Hakka identity.
Other members of the commission include former Hsinchu County commissioner Fan Chen-tsung (
Scholars on the commission include sociology professor at Academia Sinica Michael Hsiao (蕭新煌), environmental activist Tseng Kuei-hai (曾貴海), executive deputy director of the Hakka Monthly magazine, Jesse Fan (范振乾), and former DPP deputy secretary-general, Lee Wang-tai (李旺台).
There are more than three million Hakka people in Taiwan. The Cabinet has earmarked roughly NT$300 million for the commission.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS