Gu Show-faye, Minister of the Hakka Affairs Council, visited Hsinchu’s Beipu Township Office on November 19 to witness, alongside the Taiwan Raknus Selu Trail Association, the signing ceremony of an International Friendship Trail Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Taiwan’s Raknus Selu Trail and Australia’s Bibbulmun Track. Minister Gu stated that a MOU has already been signed with Korea’s Jeju Olle Trail in the past. It is a delight to see the establishment of a partnership between trails in Taiwan and Australia. This moment certainly merits to be recorded for posterity by historians.
Minister Gu especially thanked the Taiwan Thousand Miles Trail Association (TMI Trail) for their trail survey work to global marketing efforts they’ve carried out from 2017 until today. She is also grateful to all city and county governments, township offices, partner clubs and associations, and Taiwan Raknus Selu Trail Association Chair Peng Hung-yuan for their tireless endeavor to make this achievement possible. Numerous institutions have joined hands to cultivate Hakka villages across the years: the Raknus Selu Trail is the gradual fruit of a major policy fueled by national resources, as well as a stunning route that connects Taiwan to the world. It is hoped that this will inspire more global friends to thus bond with Taiwan and by extension Hakka culture.
Kathleen Broderick, Chair of the Bibbulmun Track Foundation, happily shared that she had an amazing reception at Taiwan. Not only did she enjoy the chance to know Hakka villages, temples, and local residents, but she also fell in love with dishes like stir-fried bamboo shoots and chayote leaves. The Raknus Selu Trail and Bibbulmun Track share many things in common actually. From environmental protection to cultural legacy, all such drives are worth celebrating and commemorating. This new partnership will enable people in both lands to connect with each other and tread into the future together.
The Bibbulmun Track lies in Western Australia and spans over 1,000 kilometers from Perth to Albany. It is an important site for the preservation of culture and religious beliefs of Aboriginal Australians and, located in an ecological hot spot in the southern hemisphere, it boasts a rich flora and fauna.
TMI Trail Chair Chou Sheng-hsin; Bibbulmun Track Foundation Head Kathleen Broderick and her delegation; Taiwan Raknus Selu Trail Association Chair Peng Hung-yuan; Liao Hsi-piao, Deputy Director-General of the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Headquarters, Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications; Chuang Ming-tseng of the Beipu Township Office; Wang Tseng-chung of the Emei Township Office; and representatives of local organizations took part in the momentous occasion. It is certain that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship that will bring mountain trails around the world closer together. Taiwan’s mountain lovers are also warmly invited to travel to Western Australia and marvel at its stunning sceneries, serving as tourism ambassadors between both nations.
