President Tsai (right) at the launch of a Hakka radio station. President Tsai (right) at the launch of a Hakka radio station. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwanese government is proposing to make public institutes provide services in Hakka, and that the Hakka language should be a compulsory subject in elementary and junior high schools in Hakka-populated areas, said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Hakka Radio launch event Friday.

The president emphasized that her government was on “a quest to save Hakka as a mother tongue.”

"The launch of Hakka radio shows that the government has taken one step forward regarding its tasks of promoting and preserving the Hakka language and culture,” she said in a speech made in the language.

“Elementary and junior high schools will make Hakka a compulsory language subject in areas where Hakka people account for over one-third of the total population,” said Tsai, adding “in the mean time, the public organizations should also provide services in Hakka.”

As the second-largest ethnic group, there are around 4.6 million Hakka people out of 23 million people in Taiwan today.

“The Executive Yuan has passed the draft of the amendment of the Hakka Basic Act (客家基本法), in which Hakka is to be listed as a national language,” said Tsai.

Mandarin is the official language used by the majority of the population in Taiwan. However, Taiwan did not have a de jure national language until 2017, when the government made languages spoken by the indigenous population its national languages.

“The national Hakka radio is an important example showing the transitional justice of the Hakka language and culture,” said Tsai.

Before Martial Law was lifted in 1987, the Taiwanese government had prohibited any other languages except for Mandarin. The result is the loss of the ability to speak Hakka among the Hakka population.

According to the Hakka Affairs Council, studies showed that in 2015, less than 15 percent of young Hakka adults were able to speak the language.