At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Lai Ching-te directed the Hakka Affairs Council (HAC) and other agencies to continue working with local governments in building a Hakka-language-friendly environment that will allow Taiwan's cultural diversity to flourish.
In remarks following the HAC's briefing on new Hakka language revitalization strategies, the premier said the government is working to revive Hakka language and culture by fostering Hakka-speaking environments, promoting Hakka as a main language in certain regions, and encouraging the learning and use of Hakka in schools and at home.
The amended Hakka Basic Act, promulgated by the president in January 2018, established Hakka as a national language equal in status to the languages of other ethnic groups. This move shows the administration's governing concept of respect for diversity, the premier said. He instructed the HAC to continue implementing the many new directions laid out in the act for revitalizing the language and culture of the Hakka people.
The HAC said in its briefing that it is in the process of creating complementary measures that will ensure the people's right to receive public services in Hakka. In addition to helping local governments in Hakka-speaking regions to improve capacities for providing public services in the Hakka language, the HAC will also encourage schools in those regions to teach more courses using Hakka as the medium of instruction. Other measures include expanding Hakka language certification, enhancing citizens' Hakka language abilities, and fostering Hakka-language-friendly environments.