The appointment of Lin Kwang-hua (
"It's manifestly a political gambit intended to court Hakka voters because Lin is of Hakka decent and has grassroots support after serving as Hsinchu County commissioner," said Ger Yeong-kuang (葛永光), a professor of political science at National Taiwan University.
While the Chen Shui-bian (
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
"The establishment of the Council of Hakka Affairs and the 24-hour Hakka television channel do help put the DPP-led government in a better light in the eyes of the Hakka population," Ger said.
"However, government policies such as using Hoklo-language questions in the national examination for civil servants and pushing for the birth of a new constitution really showcase its `Hoklo chauvinism' and turn the Hakka population off," Ger said.
Chiou Chwei-liang (邱垂亮), a Hakka native from Miaoli County and a visiting professor at the Graduate Institute of Southeast Asia Studies at Tamkang University, expressed the same opinion.
"Without doubt, Chen's support for Hakka culture has won general acceptance and applause from Hakka groups. However, I am still doubtful about Hakka votes for Chen in the next presidential election," he said.
As the next presidential election approaches, Chiou said that Chen has worked hard to carry out his promises by setting up Hakka television stations, establishing Hakka schools and promoting Hakka culture.
"However, we feel that Hakka people remain unmoved and that votes for Chen are still nowhere to be seen," he said.
Chiou said that Hakka people cherish the culture of the central plains in China and feel that they are a minority group just like many "New Taiwanese" mainlanders who arrived in Taiwan after the end of World War II.
"Because of their fear and enmity toward the majority of Hoklo people, the Hakka people prefer to align with the `New Taiwanese' and challenge the Hoklo people," Chiou said.
Echoing Chiou's view, Ger said that Hakka people are not the only ethnic group with that mentality.
"Mainlanders, for example, have a strong sense that the DPP is a party made up of Hoklo supremacists who regard mainlanders as either traitors or Beijing's cohorts," he said.
The party even relentlessly discriminated and humiliated its own cadre, Hsu Hsin-liang (
While a power struggle is one reason the party moved against Hsu, his policy of "boldly marching west" toward China also ran counter to the DPP's guiding principle of Taiwanese independence.
The views of Hsu, however, are the mainstream political belief among Hakka groups in Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli.
In Hsinchu, where ethnic Hakka account for 85 percent of the population, local factions maintain a larger membership than any single political party.
Traditional and united, they tend to vote for the candidate they best identify with. As such, an endorsement by major clans is indispensable at election time.
Lacking the sufficient backing of local factions, the then 56-year-old Lin lost the 2001 county chief election to his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rival Cheng Yung-chin (
Lin's pro-independence tinge also ran against the mind-set of many Hakka people, who are pro-unification. His failure also had a lot to do with the support from the pan-blue alliance of the KMT, the People First Party (PFP) and the New Party.
"This explains why we see disunity among Hakka people, who are unable either to be assimilated into the general Taiwanese culture, accept the idea of Taiwanese independence or support the pan-green camp's candidates with a Hakka background," Chiou said. "This is also the main reason why Hakka people become diehard supporters of the pan-blue camp, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Lin was among the leading candidates to succeed the former chairman of the Cabinet's Council of Agriculture, Fan Chen-tsung (
Fan, who threw his weight behind Lin during the 2001 county chief election, had recommended Lin to the premier as a potential successor.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS