The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed the Hakka Basic Act (客家基本法) aimed at protecting Hakka language and culture.
Under the act, members of the Hakka community are defined as descendants of Hakka or a person related to the community and identifying themselves as part of it.
The act obliges the government to designate a national Hakka day to honor the ethnic group’s contribution to Taiwan’s cultural diversity.
The government should take the initiative to help Taiwan become the hub for international Hakka cultural exchanges and research, the act says.
It also requires that the Council for Hakka Affairs designate areas where the number of Hakka accounts for at least one-third of the area’s population as important regions for the development of Hakka culture.
The government should promote Hakka as a language spoken at government branches in these areas and improve the Hakka-language proficiency of public officials, the act says.
Taiwan’s Hakka are concentrated in the counties of Hsinchu, Miaoli and Pingtung and around Jhongli (中壢) in Taoyuan County and Meinong (美濃) in Kaohsiung County.
The government should also establish a Hakka language database, the act says.
Legislators also passed a resolution to urge the Executive Yuan to set up a traditional Hakka culture park in the southern part of Taoyuan County to serve the Hakka community there.
Meanwhile, the legislature approved an amendment to the Copyright Act (著作權法), allowing individuals to reproduce publications by turning them into Braille versions or translation for the benefit of the visually impaired and those suffering from learning disabilities.
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