Firstly, there is strong support among Taiwan's population of 22 million people, regardless of ethnic group or provincial ancestry, for the concept of "new Taiwanese." We share a common life and our interests fully coincide, and as we confront the latest round of threats from communist China it is vital that we rally together to protect our own national security. For the sake of structural development within Taiwan too, we need to cooperate closely and not let our strengths disperse.

But "new Taiwanese" doesn't mean the vanishing of different ethnic cultures. Look at the global trend: modern countries have already figured out that cultural diversity, far from being a source of discord, is in fact an important national asset.

In Singapore for example, four languages-Chinese, English, Hindi and Malay-are regarded as official languages and are treated as such, and this shows respect for diversity. This is the first point that needs to be stressed.

Preserving the ancestral tongue

At a conservative estimate there are around 4 million Hakkas in Taiwan. Hakkas used to live in relatively remote areas and work the land for a living, so their culture and language has been preserved substantially intact. A traditional saying of ours is: "Better to sell off your ancestral lands than forget your ancestral tongue." In the period when Mandarin was being strongly promoted and dialects and local cultural activities were restricted, the development of Hakka culture was affected. But nowadays of course things have changed.

The second point is that the development of industry and commerce has led to an increase in the speed at which people move around. There has already been a huge transformation in the so-called "Hakka villages," which have experienced a massive influx of people from outside. Chungli for example, now has a population of over 300,000. Twenty years ago Hakka was still the main language in Chungli, but a lot of people don't speak it any more. Hakka speakers are gradually turning into a minority and becoming invisible. This is a concrete example of what I am talking about. Also the younger generation are less and less able to speak Hakka. Many people say that Hakka will have died out in Taiwan by the year 2040, so of course we do feel a sense of crisis.

So this campaign for raising Hakka visibility is a way of encouraging Hakka people. It tells them: you don't have to conceal your identity; don't forget that this is your land too, so don't always think of yourselves as "guests" here. And especially, as Hakka people you mustn't forget your own culture and language. Don't feel inferior about speaking Hakka. A lot of Hakka people conceal themselves to the degree that they don't dare admit that they are Hakkas and don't dare speak Hakka, which is really wrong. Hakka people have become "invisible." We need to take a good look at ourselves. If we don't have confidence in ourselves, then no wonder other people don't respect us.

We have also found that the disadvantaged status of Hakka culture is in fact a product of political and economic weakness. Among Taiwan's 500 largest corporations, only a handful are run by Hakkas. We can't blame other people for this-we only have ourselves to blame. Hakka people are quite traditional and we avoid risk. While we may be industrious and frugal, that's not enough for managing today's big corporations.

In politics, this weakness is even more evident. We can't insist upon the allocation of political resources on the basis of population share, because that's something that cannot be achieved, but at the same time allocations should not depart too far from population share. What worries Hakkas at present is that the disparity seems too wide. There are no Hakkas among the heads of the five branches of government, nor among the heads of the eight ministries. There are 400,000 Hakkas in Taipei, but not one of the more than 50 city councilors is a Hakka! So of course we are worried.

Because there are so few Hakkas in the worlds of business and politics, I sometimes feel very lonely. When the country is facing a problem and we need to turn to our "political grandees," where, I ask, are those of Hakka descent? Is a 60-year-old dabbler like me really a "grandee"? So with regard to Hakka affairs I sometimes feel there is little I can do on my own. Many people say to me: Hakka affairs and policies are your responsibility. I do indeed have a responsibility, but there is a gap between people's high expectations and what I am actually able to do. So I often encourage Hakkas who are involved in politics, whether as national legislators or Cabinet officials, to show more concern for Hakka matters, so that the responsibility can be shared around.

Sweet potatoes and taros

But I also remind my fellow Hakkas to be alert to two points. The first is that you shouldn't be chauvinist. Don't be exclu-sivist towards other ethnic groups. So long as we speak objectively about our plight, I believe that other ethnic groups will sympathize with the sense of crisis that we feel.

The second point is that you must absolutely avoid stirring up ethnic antagonism in the course of political competition, because that is highly immoral. During election campaigns and other political events there are often feelings of support and identity that exist within alumni associations, clan associations and ethnic groups. This is quite natural and is nothing to make a fuss about. But what we must prevent is the deliberate stirring up of ethnic antagonism for political objectives.

In fact when we talk about ethnic groups today, what we mainly mean is preserving languages and cultures. In terms of emotional ties it is impossible to distinguish between people. When a couple has been married for a long time, how could you separate them in terms of feelings? My daughters-in-law are both Minnan (southern Fujianese) Chinese and my daughter is married to a man from Shanxi. When I hold my daughter's son in my arms I feel very happy inside. How could I regard one as a "sweet potato" (a Taiwan islander) and the other as a "taro" (a mainlander)? Which is Minnan and which is Hakka? So in terms of emotional ties we don't want to force each other into categories. And it is especially important not to stir up this problem at election time.

We should also remind people that as part of a disadvantaged group, some Hakkas are fairly sensitive, and we hope that other ethnic groups can be understanding about this. For example, many Hakkas have never understood why the Hakka language isn't included within the definition of "Taiwanese," given that there are four or five million Hakkas in Taiwan and that Hakkas have been here for two or three centuries? Why should "Taiwanese" refer to the Minnan language, but not to Hakka?

On occasion you still hear people say "speak Taiwanese please, not Hakka!" I ask you, if it's quite natural for Minnan people to talk together in the Minnan language, then why shouldn't Hakka people speak in Hakka when they meet? Many Hakkas feel that this is not fair. Of course, I agree that in Taiwan we should be able to speak the Minnan language, but you should also be at least able to understand Hakka.

Hakka heart, Hakka affection

I think that different ethnic groups should have an attitude of appreciation for each other. For example, I can sing Hakka songs and Minnan songs, and even though I can't speak Cantonese I still do a pretty good job with a couple of Cantonese hits. Many of my friends love to sing, and can sing 30 or 40 different songs including some in Minnan, some in English and some in Cantonese. So why not learn at least one or two Hakka numbers? On many occasions, singing a song in this way brings out warm feelings in people. In fact the question of ethnic groups in Taiwan shouldn't become a major problem, because after all we have the same culture and belong to the same race, so why be divided? We simply need to preserve our diversity and appreciate one another.

During the past few years we have all begun to pay more attention to the matter of preserving ethnic cultures. I myself recorded a 30-part series of Hakka language classes for television, and when I was at KMT party headquarters I invited the Broadcasting Corporation of China to start a Hakka radio station. But the most important thing is not how much of the budget gets allocated or what programs are made. What matters most is to have a sincere understanding of how Hakkas feel about things. For us Hakkas it is the Hakka heart, and the Hakka feeling that is most important, because what we really need is respect.

However, even as we make demands of the government and of other people, we must also examine ourselves. For example, my children speak Hakka pretty well, so at least no one can say that while calling for the government to set up Hakka programming, I didn't teach my own family how to speak the language.

Another thing is that Hakka people tend to be thrifty and conservative, and are not very active about getting involved in Hakka cultural events. As an example I would mention the difficulties faced by Cheng Jung-hsing, president of National Fu Hsing Dramatic Arts Academy. He comes from Miaoli and earned his doctorate in drama in Paris. In order to maintain the art of Hakka tea-picking opera he set up a tea-picking opera troupe and brought modern dramatic methods into the traditional art. Every year they give a show at the National Theatre, and my wife and I sell tickets on a voluntary basis. But it's difficult, because our fellow Hakkas are not used to the idea of paying to see a Hakka opera.

So I often tell my fellow Hakkas: You always say that others don't value Hakka culture, but do you value it enough yourself, when you're not even prepared to spend NT$300 or NT$500 to see a high-quality performance of Hakka tea-picking opera at the National Theatre? Also, in promoting Hakka folk arts it is of course necessary to preserve the traditional spirit. Yet at the same time there must be room for progress, in terms of expressive form, if the art is to continue evolving.

Addressing Hakka topics

People often ask me if my status as a Hakka will have any bearing on the forthcoming presidential election. I can simply say that at present there is a kind of consensus among Hakka people, which is that we "will not be absent" from this election. It is an aspiration of the Hakkas that should be taken seriously.

On occasion, on various election nomination committees within the KMT, I have tried to win more posts for Hakkas. For example, I would like there to be several Hakka candidates for posts as city councilors in Taipei, since you can't allow the gap between representation and share of population to get too wide. Other people on these committees have tried to dissuade me, saying that such-and-such a candidate will never get elected. They even say that my thinking is too narrow, too ethnocentric, too preoccupied with Hakka matters.

Politicians always want to identify with the people in every area they visit. In Tainan they'll say: "I'm a true Tainan local," to emphasize their links to the people and the district. This is natural. But you shouldn't accuse Hakkas of running an ethnic campaign just because we say that we won't keep to the sidelines in the election and that we will be supporting Hakka candidates. You can't say that. You can't have double standards.

In some elections it is indeed difficult for Hakkas to play the main role, but our goal is to enable Hakka people to make their voices heard. For example, we call on all candidates to make clear proposals for Hakka policy. We don't insist on getting elected ourselves, but we do hope to obtain a better environment and make our presence felt. In the forthcoming presidential election I believe that every single candidate will have to conscientiously address Hakka topics.

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Wu Poh-hsiung, political "grandee" of the Hakkas, feels relatively powerless when it comes to Hakka affairs. (photo by Vincent Chang)