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Tsai lauds Hakka
culture¡¦s contributions
HIGH PRAISE: Tsai said the culture had
contributed a lot to the nation¡¦s development and that several Hakka beliefs
have been included in her campaign platform
By Lee Hsin-Fang / Staff Reporter
A group of Hakka women led by
former Hakka Affairs Commission minister Yeh Chu-lan applaud an appearance by
Democratic Progressive Party presidential hopeful Tsai Ing-wen, right,
yesterday.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Hakka virtues can be a source of
inspiration for the next generation of Taiwanese in a cultural, spiritual and
economic sense and will help further the nation¡¦s development, Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) presidential hopeful Tsai Ing-wen (½²^¤å) said yesterday.
Asked during a meeting with female Hakka supporters in Taipei whether she
thought her performance in the televised session between the three DPP
presidential hopefuls would boost her approval rating, Tsai said: ¡§I do not see
a cause-and-effect relationship here.¡¨
¡§The primaries have entered the final stage ¡K The primaries are necessary, but
the campaign process has to remain rational and ensure unity and harmony,¡¨ she
said.
¡§Everybody recognizes how important it is for the party to maintain unity and I
have to tell DPP members and supporters that it is normal for different opinions
and competition to exist within the party, but the real challenge and test is
how to keep united in the face of different opinions and strong competition ¡X
and the party has to go through the challenge,¡¨ she said.
Tsai told her Hakka supporters that since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
came to Taiwan after World War II, Hakka culture had made substantial
contributions to the nation¡¦s development.
Hakka literature had sustained the development of Taiwanese literature and Hakka
women had demonstrated how to be responsible for their families.
¡§Not only did they take care of their families¡¦ everyday lives, they also worked
on the farm and made decisions on family matters,¡¨ she said.
Tsai said several Hakka beliefs were included in her campaign platform.
In the past, many people saw Hakka culture as part of Taiwan¡¦s traditional
culture, but actually Hakka culture could lead the continuing development of the
nation¡¦s cultural identity, she said.
Former Hakka Affairs Commission minister Yeh Chu-lan (¸µâÄõ), who attended the
meeting, said that in her opinion, Tsai was ¡§the only¡¨ and ¡§the best¡¨
presidential candidate.
Yeh said she saw in Tsai many of the same virtues as the Hakka women in
attendance and that as a woman of Hakka decent, Tsai¡¦s insistence, wisdom, calm
and reason had led the party through darkness and back into the sunshine.
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