Labeling her a “pseudo Hakka” for her inability to speak Hakka fluently is unacceptable, since language proficiency should never be judged as a “cardinal sin,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
She said the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) “crude language policies” of the past was the reason her Hakka was not more fluent.
Tsai was responding to comments by former KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) — a Hakka — who told a rally in support of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Sunday that Tsai was a “pseudo Hakka” because she could not speak Hakka and had not spoken it in more than 50 years.
“I admit my Hakka is not good enough, but I am proud of my Hakka ancestry and appreciate that Hakka people across the nation have accepted me with open arms as one of them,” Tsai said.
However, telling people not to support her because she is a fake Hakka or because of her limited Hakka-language ability was unacceptable, she said.
“I am not the only Hakka who can’t speak fluent Hakka. Many people can’t,” Tsai said.
“And there are many Hoklo people are not able to speak fluent Hoklo [also known as Taiwanese] as well,” she added.
The KMT’s language policies, which only promoted Mandarin during the Martial Law era and suppressed the development of other languages, such as Hakka, Hoklo and Aboriginal languages, are the reason why the children of these ethnic groups did not learn or speak their mother tongue, she said.
“Not only has the KMT failed to apologize for its wrong policies, it is now playing the race card to cover the failure of its policies,” Tsai said. “It is immoral to resort to the tactic of inciting ethnic divisions.”
Ma said being a “Mainlander” was his “cardinal sin” when his proposal to sign a peace accord with China was received negatively and was described as a plan to “sell out Taiwan,” Tsai said.
“So has KMT decided to resort to a strategy of ethnic division to boost its presidential campaign?” she said.
Tsai pledged to learn Hakka and promised to create a fair environment for all ethnic groups, cultures and languages if she was elected president in January, adding that her respect for the Hakka spirit and culture is what counts.
“And nobody should have to have a cardinal sin for his or her identity or the language he or she speaks,” she added.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
1.4nm WAFERS: While TSMC is gearing up to expand its overseas production, it would also continue to invest in Taiwan, company chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has applied for permission to construct a new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), which it would use for the production of new high-speed wafers, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council, which supervises three major science parks in Taiwan, confirmed that the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau had received an application on Friday from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to commence work on the new A14 fab. A14 technology, a 1.4 nanometer (nm) process, is designed to drive artificial intelligence transformation by enabling faster computing and greater power
RSS