National Language Development Conference Held in Tainan, Aiming to Create a Multilingual Society with Linguistic Equality

The Ministry of Culture is hosting the '2026 Third National Language Development Conference' at the National Museum of Taiwan in Tainan over two days. Centered on the theme of 'co-creating a multilingual society with linguistic equity,' the event features international academic symposiums and cross-sector dialogues to explore the future direction and vision for national language development.

Representatives from government agencies, academia, civil organizations, and various language communities are participating. Under the theme of 'co-creating a multilingual society with linguistic equity,' the conference promotes dialogue on national language issues through policy exchanges and shared experiences.

Minister of Culture Lee Yuan delivered opening remarks, stating, 'Today, Tainan is filled with tourists, and if you listen closely, you can hear many different domestic and international languages. This shows we are already living in a multilingual society. Languages are like food—everyone lives in their familiar environment, breathing fresh air and eating what they are accustomed to.'

Lee emphasized that Taiwan, having experienced periods under Japanese rule when Japanese was the national language and under the Nationalist government when Mandarin was enforced, saw many ethnic groups living on the same land yet feeling lost, unable to find their cultural homes. 'Now that the government recognizes all languages as national languages, Taiwan has entered a culturally multilingual society—a significant national declaration with profound meaning,' he said.

Hsu Hsiu-hui, Chairperson of the Hakka Affairs Council, expressed concern that despite a growing Hakka population and stronger ethnic identity, Hakka language usage continues to decline. Language revitalization is more difficult than expected, and she hopes the conference will yield concrete recommendations to make policies more comprehensive.

Tu Chang Mei-chuang, Standing Deputy Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples, stated that for Indigenous peoples, language is not only a tool for cultural transmission but also a vessel of historical memory. However, several Indigenous languages are now endangered, and language loss is severe. The Council is strengthening corpus development with AI, preschool Indigenous language education, and training young language advocates. She hopes this conference will foster exchanges to create a better environment for Indigenous languages.

Liu Kuo-wei, Minister without Portfolio at the Ministry of Education, reported that over 400 kindergartens nationwide are implementing immersive mother-tongue teaching programs, encouraging children from different ethnic groups to learn in their native languages. The Taiwanese proficiency test attracts over 30,000 candidates annually. The Ministry plans to establish an immersive Taiwanese language base in Chiayi to expand immersive learning environments. He hopes to gather diverse suggestions at this conference to further refine mother-tongue promotion strategies.

The Ministry of Culture highlighted that this conference emphasizes international participation and policy dialogue. Today’s international academic symposium brings together domestic and international experts to discuss linguistic equity, multilingual societies, language rights, and language revitalization. Taiwan’s practical experiences and achievements in national language development are shared to enhance international collaboration.

Tomorrow, the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, Council of Indigenous Peoples, and Hakka Affairs Council will present progress reports on their respective language policies. They will engage in dialogue with civil representatives and language communities to understand development needs across different languages. The draft of the 'Second National Language Development Report' will also be discussed. Based on the 2025 National Language Survey results, the conference aims to gather broad input and build consensus to finalize the report, serving as a reference for future policy improvements.