Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday encouraged Hakka people to let their voice be heard by harnessing the power of social media.
Wu, who is of Hakka descent, made the call at the national Hakka cultural and economic summit, which was held by the Cross-Strait Hakka Cultural and Economic Association at Taipei’s Hakka Cultural Park.
Hakka Affairs Council Deputy Minister Lee Chao-ming (李朝明), national policy advisor to the president Huang Chao-sung (黃肇松) and China Review News editor-in-chief and director Guo Wei-feng (郭偉峰) were among the summit attendees.
“While a number of universities nationwide have set up colleges of Hakka studies or introduced Hakka-related subjects to their curricula, cross-strait academic institutions need to engage in more Hakka research exchanges,” Wu said in a speech to the forum.
In the meantime, Hakka people should also endeavor to let their voices be heard through social media, Wu said.
Calling for fairer media coverage of the ethnic group, Huang, the former chairman of the Central News Agency, said what matters the most to Hakka people are the sustainability of their culture and the revitalization of their language.
“Without the Hakka language, Hakka culture would not exist. Without the Hakka culture, there would be no Hakkas at all,” Huang said, adding that Hakka culture faces great challenges from the country’s mainstream culture.
The Hakka ethnic group, which accounts for between 15 percent and 20 percent of the nation’s total population, could be at risk of losing its roots if people fail to protect their culture, Huang said.
“If we don’t act now, the number of people speaking the Hakka language could be no more than 5 percent of the country’s population in 30 to 40 years. If this pace of deterioration continues, the language could die out and the ethnic group disappear in 100 years,” Huang said, urging all concerned parties to act before it is too late.
A domestically developed “suicide drone,” also known as a loitering munition, would be tested and evaluated in July, and could enter mass production next year, Taiwan’s weapons developer said on Wednesday. The yet-to-be-named drone was among nine drone models unveiled by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Tuesday. The drone has been dubbed the “Taiwanese switchblade” by Chinese-language media, due to its similarity to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which has been used by Ukraine in counterattacks during Russia’s invasion. It has a range of more than 10km, a flight time of more than 15 minutes, and an electro-optical
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective