Recent efforts by the Hakka Affairs Council (HAC) to form industrial clusters in Hakka communities have already produced impressive results, Premier Jiang Yi-huah remarked at today's Cabinet meeting, where the HAC reported on progress in creating "spotlight" Hakka cultural and tourism industries, promoting travel packages, and encouraging young Hakkas to start businesses in their home communities.
The premier asked the HAC to press on with these efforts and to coordinate with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Council of Agriculture, and the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in publicizing and enlivening Hakka industries. He added that central and local governments could also support the development of Hakka industries by organizing employee trips to the communities or arranging group orders of Hakka specialty gifts.
To consolidate the industry clusters, the HAC said it categorized 69 Hakka cultural districts into different specialty industries, provided guidance and training to businesses and workers, and helped them form alliances and marketing partnerships with other industries. In 2012, for instance, the council provided assistance to 12 spotlight businesses under a Hakka industry integration program, certified 17 eateries as quality Hakka food restaurants, and provided 10 Hakka businesses with advanced industrial guidance and personnel training. Altogether, NT$9.62 million (US$325,000) was invested into these businesses, spurring peripheral industries, attracting an additional 487,000 visitors, and generating NT$930 million (US$31.4 million) in consumption. In 2013, businesses benefiting from such guidance programs increased to 437 in number and earned NT$2.8 billion (US$94.1 million) in sales.
Other initiatives sponsored by the HAC include: a Hakka business innovation and cultivation program, which trained 218 people between 2012 and 2013; a subsidy program in 2013 for young Hakkas starting businesses in their hometowns, which helped eight companies to get up and running; and the Hakka Expo in late 2013 at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall, which attracted 253,725 visitors and created a new and modern image for Hakka cultural businesses.