Recently, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as the ruling party, saying it should have paid more attention to the development of Hakka as a national language.
Hou’s criticism cannot stand. It reminds us of how the KMT for years revered only Mandarin while suppressing other languages in Taiwan. Consequently, some languages in Taiwan are now at risk of dying out.
Before the lifting of Martial Law, due to the KMT’s language policy — which promoted the exclusive use of Mandarin — Hakka was prohibited and hence classified as endangered by UNESCO. The DPP lifted the prohibition and made Hakka a national language. It has been protected since then.
This difference could not be more obvious. A political party with a record of putting local languages in danger is criticizing another political party that tries to save local languages. It is like a thief accusing others of theft.
In 2015, Hakka writer Chung Chao-cheng (鍾肇政) told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) that the extinction of the Hakka language would lead to the disappearance of the Hakka community. In 2016, Tsai publicly promised that the Hakka language would be designated a national language. As president, she officially elevated the status of Hakka in 2018. The following year, the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法) was instituted to respect the diversity of Taiwanese culture. Several laws have also been implemented since 2021 to make sure that all languages in Taiwan are preserved and developed.
In early 2000, the DPP started to promote a law to affirm that all languages should have equal standing. The Hakka Affairs Council also proposed a similar law. Yet these laws were blocked by the pan-blue-controlled legislature.
In 1988, the Hakka community devoted itself to the Restore My Mother Tongue Movement, fighting for the right to use and preserve the Hakka language. Not until 2018 did their mother tongue become a national language.
The Development of National Languages Act ensures that all languages in Taiwan are equal and should be respected. Yet during the process of implementing this act, the KMT stood in the way and claimed that the act tried to erase Mandarin. In other words, the KMT did not contribute to the legislative process that would guarantee the rights of local languages.
Language loss is a political issue. The KMT’s language policies — which suppressed the mother tongues of the Taiwanese — have put many languages in in danger. Former KMT Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) once said: “One should learn their mother tongue at home,” and that teaching mother tongues in schools would be a waste. It is clear that Han looks down on local languages.
Hou’s criticism is not true, but if he could reflect on what his party has done, he might be able to change the party’s ideology and transform the KMT into a political party focusing on Taiwan. That would also democratize and normalize Taiwan’s language policies.
The Aesop’s Fable of the frog carrying a scorpion across a river on its back, only to be stung by the scorpion, reminds us that we need to be more careful about politicians’ promises during elections. The scorpion stung the frog because it was in its nature, despite its promise to the frog.
Voters should distinguish lies from truth with caution. They must investigate the characters of candidates thoroughly, so as not to be tricked.
Tiunn Hak-khiam is a professor in the Chinese literature department at National Taitung University.
Translated by Emma Liu
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