Taiwan Today

Hakka radio and TV stations are giving voice to the ethnic group and helping preserve its cultural traditions.

Last October, Formosa Hakka Radio (FHR) capped off a historic year for Hakka media in Taiwan by bagging the prize for best art and cultural radio program at the Golden Bell Awards, the nation’s foremost broadcasting honors. The winning show, “Hakka Triple Play,” features three actors performing Hakka opera. According to Liu Run-hui (劉潤惠), director of the station, this marked the first time that the prestigious accolade was presented to a series delivered entirely in the Hakka language. “This was no mean feat as we were up against Mandarin programs made by some of the country’s leading networks,” she said.

Hakka TV was another star of last year’s Golden Bell Awards. The channel earned seven honors, marking its largest-ever haul at the annual event. Five of these went to its 14-episode drama “Roseki.” The period piece depicting the life and works of Hakka novelist-turned-communist supporter Lu He-ruo (呂赫若) picked up such prizes as best leading actress and best writing in a television series.

These successes spotlight the talent of actors, producers and technicians working in Taiwan’s vibrant Hakka media sector. They are also the result of decades of efforts by campaigners to promote the ethnic group’s language and heritage.

Mainstream Emergence

In October 1987, Hakka journalists from several leading newspapers and one of the three TV stations in Taiwan at that time banded together to launch the pioneering magazine Hakka Monthly. Its initial goal was to advocate for the use of the Hakka language on local television channels, according to Chang I-pin (張義品), manager of the periodical. “It ran articles calling on the Hakka people to tackle the marginalization of their language in society as well as for the government to address the matter,” he said.

A major breakthrough in this campaign was achieved Jan. 1, 1989, when the country’s first-ever Hakka language TV program, a 30-minute show exploring Hakka communities nationwide, was shown by Taiwan Television Enterprise. This was followed in 1994 by the launch of FHR, the nation’s inaugural radio station focused on delivering content in the language.

The most significant milestone came in 2003 when publicly funded Hakka TV commenced operations. The sole channel in the world broadcasting predominantly in Hakka, it is tasked with highlighting the culture, history and language of the ethnic group comprising 19.3 percent of the country’s 23.5 million people.

Today, Taiwan is home to a diverse Hakka media sector. There are at least five print outlets including Hakka Monthly and Moon Mountain Magazine, based in Meinong District of southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City. With its initial mission achieved, Hakka Monthly has transitioned over the years to covering arts and culture. Since 1990, it has also organized an annual summer camp aimed at connecting Hakka people with their mother tongue and traditions.

Taiwan also boasts five Hakka radio stations, four of which are regional. Hakka Radio, founded in June 2017 and funded by the Cabinet-level Hakka Affairs Council, is the first to broadcast across Taiwan proper.

Diverse Programming

As Hakka media outlets have grown in number, they have also diversified their offerings to appeal to larger audiences. “To attract members of the next generation, we’ve been recruiting young people to host our programs and encouraging them to discuss trending topics like internet memes and Korean pop stars,” Liu said.

Out of the some 60 hosts at FHR, nine are in their 20s. Their shows complement the work of more experienced colleagues, who typically focus on introducing classical stories and sharing their knowledge of Hakka traditions and music. Liu said that the station also promotes interactions between the two in a bid to pass on cultural heritage and foster intergenerational understanding. These efforts are exemplified by a program launched in January. From Monday to Friday each week, the hourlong show brings together a different young female and senior male presenter from the station’s roster to share their thoughts and perspectives. “On Valentine’s Day, the hosts chatted about love and relationships. Their discussions are truly interesting and inspiring,” she said.

Progressive topics are also on the programming schedule. Last year, Hakka Radio commissioned FHR to produce “Sex and Gender,” a series that addresses issues like gay marriage. “That was a daring move given that Hakka people are typically viewed as quite conservative,” Liu said. The show was well-received, earning a nomination in the category for best host of an educational and cultural program at last year’s Golden Bell Awards.

In April, FHR again demonstrated its commitment to pushing the envelope with the launch of the groundbreaking nine-episode multilingual drama series “Formosa Pawnshop.” Set in 1945 in the immediate aftermath of the 50-year Japanese colonial period, the story centers around interactions between members of Taiwan’s various ethnic groups and strives to deepen mutual understanding. “Pulling off a project of this complexity in multiple languages requires an engaging script and innovative sound design,” Liu said. “This is the sort of challenge that excites radio producers and it’s also a good strategy for retaining young talents, who are always eager to stretch their creative muscles.”

Small-Screen Success

When it comes to exerting influence and rejuvenating culture, no media outlet plays a bigger role than Hakka TV. “We’re one of a kind, so we try to produce programs to satisfy all demographics,” said Benjamin Tchang (張壯謀), director of the Taipei City-based station. “We want to help restore the confidence of older Hakka people who might once have hidden their ethnic identity, while also cultivating younger people’s interest in learning about their roots.”

Hakka TV creates original programming on everything from news and cooking to opera and community exploration. Tchang made special mention of its shows for children and teenagers, adding that the station produces at least 90 hours of such content every year. “The next generation of Hakka people will determine the future of our language, so we make products to capture their attention and encourage them to speak their mother tongue,” he said. The station has also broadcast Hakka-dubbed versions of popular foreign cartoons like “Doraemon” and “The Garfield Show.”

The appeal of Hakka TV owes much to its high-quality dramas, many of which draw inspiration from Hakka literature. Tchang has high hopes that its next big series will repeat the success of critical darling “Roseki.” The new project, titled “Survive,” is adapted from fiction and prose by Lai Ho (賴和), a celebrated Taiwan writer who released publications in the 1920s and 1930s focused on the working class. “We’re a nonprofit station, which means the quality of our shows isn’t compromised by commercial considerations,” Tchang said.

United Purpose

Producing content aside, Hakka TV is charged with forging links with other ethnic stations around the globe. Since 2008, members of its news department have visited peers at such organizations as S4C, a Welsh language channel in the U.K., TV3, a Catalan station in Spain, and Maori Television in New Zealand in order to exchange views and foster tie-ups.

Hakka TV is working to formalize such links by organizing a communications platform for ethnic channels worldwide. The plan is to encourage the outlets to take turns organizing seminars and conferences and even co-produce programs, said Paul Shiang (向盛言), head of Hakka TV’s news department. Shiang is spearheading the initiative, and expects Taiwan to play the lead role in the mooted collaborative group.

These grand ambitions reflect how far Hakka media has advanced since the language rights campaign began gaining momentum in the late 1980s. According to Hakka Monthly’s Chang, “our outlets may still lack the influence of their mainstream counterparts, but compared with the situation three decades ago, we’ve definitely come a very long way.” 

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw