Premier Jiang Yih-huah today affirmed the Hakka Affairs Council (HAC) for launching innovative initiatives to promote Hakka culture and raise the international visibility of Hakka art in Taiwan.
The HAC's wide-ranging efforts include expanding local Hakka festivals into international tourism events, guiding and supporting Hakka performance groups, and refining Hakka performances and arts. The council is also working with local governments to organize celebrations for the 12 major Hakka festivities and teaming up with overseas and digital television stations to produce Hakka-related programs and commercials.
Jiang asked the Ministry of Culture and the Tourism Bureau to strengthen their marketing campaigns and to target domestic and international tourists of all backgrounds, ages and genders. As visitors take part in these festivals and cultural activities, they will develop a greater fondness and appreciation of Taiwan's Hakka culture.
According to the HAC, the Hakka festivities have attracted more than 8 million visitors a year since 2011, bringing at least NT$23 billion (US$770 million) in economic benefits to Hakka industries. Since 2013, at least four performance troupes have received help each year to appear in national and international cultural festivals. In the future, a talent nurturing program will raise up at least 20 new names a year in Hakka music, dance, drama and literature, passing on Hakka culture and enhancing Taiwan's soft power.
Aside from preserving traditional forms of Hakka art, the HAC will inject modern elements by introducing more refined, innovative and culturally diverse contents into the Hakka festivities. International cultural exchanges will also be encouraged to bring Hakka art closer in line with the mainstream and make it a new bright spot on the global stage.