Hakka American Association and their Online Discourses: A Case Study of the Taiwan Council Global Website

Wei-An Chang, Ann Shu-ju Chiu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Hakka groups have been referred to as "guest people" (Kejia [phrase omitted]) (Constable 1996). They were latecomers to migration and occupied the marginalized areas in their residential societies. They were guest members living in proximity to other early mainstream settler groups. In the past thousand years they have gone through five major migrations from northern to southern China in Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces (Lowe 2012). Quite a number have further migrated to settle in Taiwan and other Asia-Pacific regions since the eighteenth century. Today there is Hakka immigration around the globe, along with many frequent worldwide links between Hakka communities. Eriberto Lozada (1998) argues that the development of Internet technology can strengthen the formation and spread of Hakka identification as revealed from the Hakka Global Network, an Internet mailing list subscribed to by netizens interested in Hakka cultures. Using a case study of the Global Website initiated by Taiwan's Council of Hakka Affairs, we will demonstrate that the Internet also helps Taiwan Hakka Chinese preserve their distinctiveness in a multicultural society and negotiate a cultural identity beyond the nation-state in their everyday life.
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)81-90
Number of pages10
JournalChinese America: History & Perspectives Journal
StatePublished - 2018

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