The Ethnic Relationship between ‘Major Hakka Cultural Areas’ and ‘Indigenous Administrative Areas’: A Case Study on the Taian Township in the Maioli County
Pao-Chien Wang*
Abstract
Taiwan’s government introduced the “Basic Hakka Law” in 2010 and established 69 ‘Major Hakka Cultural Areas’ in 2011. Some of the Major Hakka Cultural Areas are overlapped with the indigenous peoples’ districts, which were designated from 1945 on, and the overlapped districts might be called the ‘Hakka-indigenous combined districts’. The essay employs the ethnic theory as the analysis theory. In-depth interviews and focus groups method are used to analyze the relationships between the two areas which can be described as competitive and cooperative, while explaining key policy problems of the combined districts.
Keywords: Taiwan Hakka Ethnic, Major Hakka Cultural Areas, Indigenous Peoples’ District, Ethnic Relations, Basic Hakka Law
* Pao-Chien Wang, Ph.D. Graduate Institute of National Development, National Taiwan University. Assistant Research Fellow, Center for Hakka Studies, National Taiwan University. Secrectary General, Taiwan Hakka Research Association.