At the Cabinet meeting today, Premier Lin Chuan was briefed by the Hakka Affairs Council (HAC) on its "Romantic Provincial Highway 3" project that will turn a stretch of the highway into a picturesque route of Hakka culture and history. This national flagship project, one of President Tsai Ing-wen's campaign platforms, will cover 16 Hakka communities along the highway, linking up their economies, ecologies and cultural landscapes, Lin pointed out.
The HAC outlined the project's concrete measures in three major areas:
1. Highlighting Hakka culture:
Conducting surveys and research on the cultural landscape of Hakka settlements, instituting and promoting Hakka slow-living concepts, renewing Hakka artisan culture, establishing platforms and sites for Hakka arts and cultural creativities, and fostering and marketing the romantic imagery of Provincial Highway 3.
2. Revamping the environment:
Sprucing up scenic stretches of Provincial Highway 3, setting up Hakka cultural and educational as well as industrial bases, giving a cultural look to traditional Hakka villages, and creating low-carbon transportation networks.
3. Developing industries:
Cultivating and training industrial talents, assisting and developing Hakka cultural industrial hubs, developing and marketing Hakka specialty themes for tourism, instituting support systems for young people to return and start up businesses, and using technology to enhance tourism experiences.