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A nervous Hsieh tested on his Hakka language ability

Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said he felt a little nervous yesterday, not because he had to attend an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan, but because he had to head to class to take a test.

The premier arrived at the National Taiwan University campus for the basic Hakka proficiency oral and listening comprehension test at 8:50am, or 10 minutes before the start of the test.

He was accompanied by Lee Yung-teh (李永得), chairman of the Council for Hakka Affairs.

The premier said that it is not important how he scores on the test, but what matters is that his taking part in the accreditation test will help promote the learning of Hakka, the third most widely spoken tongue in Taiwan after Mandarin and Taiwanese.

"If all ethnic groups in Taiwan learn one another's languages, this will enhance harmony and diversity," Hsieh said.

He also showed off his Hakka by saying that he's "been studying Hakka conscientiously," in Hakka, adding that although he has a Hakka teacher, he has often had to miss lessons because of his tight schedule.

He said that the day before the test, he was at the legislature for eight hours and could only practice his Hakka by translating the questions posed by lawmakers into Hakka in his head.

Lee said that the premier has made great progress in Hakka over the past month.

He said Hsieh would "definitely score well on the test."

More than 6,700 people registered for the test on Nov. 5 to Nov. 6, with the youngest being six years old and the oldest being 85. The oral test accounts for 80 percent of the exam, while the written test accounts for 20 percent. Seventy percent is considered a passing grade.

Lee said that in the future, the council is planning medium and advanced level Hakka tests. Also, due to limited resources, the council was only able to hold the test in Taipei this time.
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