The Hakka Affairs Council on Tuesday said it has restructured its organization to create a new Department of Language Development dedicated to promoting the Hakka language.
The promotion and revival of Hakka language and culture is central to the council’s mission, Hakka Affairs Council Minister Yiong Con-ziin (楊長鎮) said.
The Language Education Section of the council’s Department of Culture and Education was previously responsible for the job of promoting the Hakka language, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Hakka Affairs Council
Last year, the council sought approval from the Executive Yuan to adjust and expand the section, he said.
The Department of Culture and Education has been transformed into the Department of Language Development, the council said.
The Culture and Arts Section of the former Department of Culture and Education has been merged with the Department of Communication Marketing to create the Department of Arts, Culture and Communication, the council said, adding that it would formulate a marketing strategy for Hakka arts and cultural activities.
The Department of Language Development is to encourage the use of the Hakka language in schools, families and communities, it said.
The department would have sections focused on planning, education and society, Yiong said.
It hopes to improve pertinent infrastructure, develop Hakka-language environments, enrich the Hakka content industry and support community-based arts and cultural activities, he said.
The department’s primary task is to create environments that are friendly to the use of the Hakka language and to increase its use, he said.
While the Hakka Basic Act (客家基本法) and the Regulations for Implementation of the Hakka Language as the Common Language (客語為通行語實施辦法) require a percentage of civil servants and teachers who work in areas where Hakka is a common language to pass a Hakka proficiency test, obtaining the certification does not mean that Hakka is freely used locally, he said.
Thus, the council would ramp up its promotion of the language among the public, he said, adding that he looks forward to local communities becoming important places for the revival of the language.
The development of Hakka arts and culture would also focus more on local communities, he said, adding that the council aims to help boost the arts and cultural scene in Hakka communities.
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