In his capacity as the president of the World Hakka Federation, Hsinchu County Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun attended the Asia Taiwanese Hakka Association (ATHA) Joint Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand on December 11th. During the conference, it was resolved to establish the International Hakka Museum in Hsinchu County. Magistrate Chiu said he will make all-out effort to gain the assistance and support from the Taiwan Hakka Affairs Council and other Hakka groups all over the world.
At the conference, Magistrate Chiu showed the achievements of the promotion of Hakka culture to all the participants, hoping to keep carrying forward Hakka people’s persevering spirit. He revealed that the Hakka Yimin Festival, the leading activity of the 12 major Hakka festivals, has been officially listed as one of the most important national folk customs and included in the calendar of Taiwan tourism events. Magistrate Chiu also displayed painted pig artworks from the Yimin Festival, a 3D animation scroll depicting Hakka history, and gifts from the county’s 13 townships. Through local Hakka culture, Hsinchu County has been successfully promoted.
In addition, Magistrate Chiu proudly told attendees how Hsinchu County had stood out among more than 400 cities around the world to be named one of the world’s Top 7 smart cities by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). This international success was a major milestone.
Magistrate Chiu thanked all overseas Hakka for their praiseworthy efforts to pass on Hakka culture. Despite living abroad for many years and achieving career success, they still kept Hakka in mind and pass on Hakka culture. He also stressed that the primary mission to promote Hakka culture today is to encourage young people to get involved so that the previous generations and the following generations are able to bond with each other.