UTAR hosted a forum on “Hakka Studies and Culture Industry” (客家研究与文化产业学术会议) on 21 July 2023 at Kampar Campus.

The forum, a collaboration between UTAR Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), the Centre for Chinese Studies (CChS), the National United University (NUU) College of Hakka Studies and UTAR Chinese Studies Society, received wide participation from researchers, academics, students and members of the public, both local and abroad.

The forum aimed to promote academic and cultural exchange between UTAR and NUU on Hakka studies and the culture industry. A total of 11 research papers were presented at the forum by academics and students from both institutions.

Invited to officiate the event were Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) Dean Prof Ts Dr Liew Soung Yue, representing UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong; NUU College of Hakka Studies Dean Prof Feng Hsiang-yung, and ICS Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes and CChs Chairperson Assoc Prof Dr Wong Wun Bin. Also present were NUU College of Hakka Studies Former Dean Prof Lin Pen-hsuan, Institute of Hakka Language and Communication academic Assoc Prof Dr Fan Jui-Ling; UTAR ICS Deputy Dean for R&D and Postgraduate Programmes Assoc Prof Dr Chin Chong Foh, Head of Department of Chinese Studies (Kampar Campus) Dr Toh Teong Chuan, representatives from Chinese clans and associations, staff and students from UTAR and NUU.

In his welcome speech, Dr Wong expressed his gratitude to the academics and students from NUU, and the representatives from Hakka clans and associations for their participation. He mentioned, “NUU is a partner university of UTAR, and both universities have had a close partnership over the years. I am glad to have the NUU team, led by Prof Feng, with us today. I hope we can work together to promote academic interaction and exchange among staff and students from both institutions on Hakka studies and culture industry. Apart from this, I would also like to thank the Hakka associations and clans for their continuous support and funding of our academic activities such as today’s event, enabling the flourishing of Hakka studies.”

He revealed, “Hakka is one of the important ethnic Chinese groups in Malaysia. The Hakka culture and studies in Malaysia are wonderful and interesting. If we just keep our research outcome among the academic circle, it will restrict the dissemination of the studies. What we can do is, give the research outcome a second life by turning it into a cultural industry which will help create employment opportunities and improve the quality of people’s life; and upgrade the culture into a more high-quality culture to integrate and communicate with different cultures. Moreover, the cultural property left by our ancestors should be further improved, so that our next generation will still have the opportunity to understand the precious cultural heritage left by the ancestors.”  

Prof Feng thanked UTAR and the organising committee for the arrangement and said, “It is a great pleasure for us to participate in today’s forum and have this exchange with the participants from Malaysia. Before the pandemic, Prof Lin brought some students to Kampar for academic exchange and internship programmes as well as field studies. However, the student exchange programme was temporarily stopped due to the pandemic. Finally, I got the opportunity to visit Malaysia to feel the Hakka atmosphere and culture of this land. I have always encouraged my students to visit Malaysia for field study and exchange as Malaysia is a multicultural country with a rich cultural heritage.”

He looked forward to having further collaboration with UTAR on cultural studies, especially the studies of the Hakka language and culture. He also introduced the transformation and development of Hakka studies in Taiwan, which has created a virtuous circle for the local Hakka cultural industry.

In his opening speech, Prof Liew welcomed the participants from local and abroad. He mentioned, “The convening of today’s forum represents a very important step for the study of Hakka culture. Due to insufficient resources, it was difficult for us to study the Hakka culture with local characteristics in the multidisciplinary academic environment of Malaysia. But we have seen how Taiwan’s Hakka culture has successfully transformed into a cultural industry and a model of economic benefits. Therefore, we hope to draw inspiration from Taiwan’s successful experience, bringing new development to Malaysia by combining Hakka culture studies and industrial development.”

He then shared the efforts of UTAR and ICS on Hakka studies, and said, “Since its establishment, UTAR has been committed to the study of Hakka culture, and we have a very enthusiastic team formed by ICS academics and students who are dedicated to Hakka studies and related topics. Moreover, the University has also collaborated with the Federation of Ka Yin Chu Association of Malaysia to jointly cultivate Hakka academic research talents and publish a series of books on Hakka studies in Malaysia. Apart from this, UTAR has also collaborated with Hakka studies institutions of Taiwan universities, such as NUU to promote student and staff exchanges and academic research to deepen the understanding of Hakka culture, and provide a wider range of strengths for Hakka studies in UTAR. I believe we can work together and contribute to the inheritance and development of Hakka studies through the exchange of experts and scholars from both institutions.”

The forum was divided into three sessions and it focused on topics related to Taiwan’s Hakka culture industry, “Burst Dragon” culture in Miaoli, the Hakka Museum, Hakka imagery, the development trend of the Hakka leisure industry, and innovative elements to promote Hakka culture industry; Malaysia’s Hakka clans and associations and culture industry in Kampar, Hakka leaders, community interaction among Hakka clans in Kampar, the connotation and extension of Hakka folk songs, to name a few. The forum concluded after closing remarks by Prof Lin and Dr Chin.