The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday launched its first televised Hakka camapign advertisement highlighting the DPP administration's efforts to preserve the language and cultural assets of the Hakka people, who have been showing weak support for the party and are deemed a crucial element for the DPP's electoral prospects.
The TV advertisement depicts non-Hakka people learning to speak the now infrequently spoken language for the purpose of better ethnic integration. It shows President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) speaking Hakka with a strange accent, which is what happens when non-Hakka people learn the language.
DPP campaign spokesman Wu Nai-jen (
"The Hakka TV channel itself is a major pioneering project to keep the Hakka language and its cultural assets alive, and this is something the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hasn't been able to do for the past five decades," Wu said.
Hakka is considered a minority language and according to statistics from the Council for Hakka Affairs, less than 10 percent of Hakka teenagers can speak fluent Hakka.
Wu, whose wife is a Hakka, said the Hakka TV channel has made it easier to learn the language.
"I remember the hard way my children learned to speak Hakka with their mother. My wife would pretend she didn't hear the children's words if they were not spoken in Hakka. But now, with the Hakka channel, I believe other Hakka families experiencing a similar struggle in passing down this language heritage would find it easier to keep their mother tongue alive," Wu said.
National Policy Advisor Liang Jung-mao (梁榮茂), also a Hakka, said yesterday that from 1945 until 2000, the KMT government had seriously ignored the development of the Hakka communities and even oppressed the survival of the dialect.
People First Party (PFP) legislator Chung Hsiao-ho (
Chung said the idea of setting up a Hakka TV station had been initiated during the premiership of KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"Without the help of opposition parties reviewing the Hakka-related budgets, those initiatives can never succeed," Chung said.
However, earlier this month opposition lawmakers were criticized by the Hakka people for trying to block 80 percent of the annual budget for the Council of Hakka Affairs.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
RSS