Taiwan’s 1st Hakka radio station remains an airwaves innovator

2019/05/27

Formosa Hakka Radio, the pioneer of Taiwan’s Hakka language broadcasting sector, is still making history 25 years after its launch. Last fall, the station’s “Hakka Triple Play,” a show featuring three Hakka opera performers, bagged the prize for best art and cultural radio program at the Golden Bell Awards, the nation’s foremost broadcasting honors.
 
 According to Liu Run-hui, 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.
 
 Taiwan is a melting pot of various ethnic groups, including Holo, Hakka, indigenous peoples and new immigrants from around the world. The Hakka are the second largest after the Holo, comprising 19.3 percent of the nation’s population of 23.5 million, statistics from the Cabinet-level Hakka Affairs Council show.
 
 FHR was launched in 1994 as the first radio station delivering content primarily in Hakka. Today, it is one of five such broadcasters in Taiwan. Hakka Radio, founded in June 2017 and funded by the HAC, is the newest and the first to transmit across Taiwan proper. The others are regional, with FHR available throughout much of northern Taiwan.

Key to FHR’s longevity is a willingness to evolve with its audience, Liu said. “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.”
 
Out of the some 60 hosts at FHR, nine are in their 20s. Liu said that the station also promotes interactions between the two generations, as exemplified by a new program launched in January. From Monday to Friday each week, the hourlong show brings together a different young female and senior male presenter to share their thoughts and perspectives.
 
 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. The show was well-received, earning a Golden Bell Award nomination for best host of an educational and cultural program.

In April, FHR again demonstrated its commitment to pushing the envelope with the launch of the 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. “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.”
 
As FHR pursues innovation, it remains focused on its core goal of promoting cultural preservation. Among other efforts, it has organized an annual Hakka language recital competition for elementary school students since 2008. The most recent edition, staged April 20 in Taipei City, attracted 65 contestants, who were asked to deliver a speech introducing Hakka cuisine from a cookbook published last year by celebrated chef Cindy Chang.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)