TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Hualien County sent a delegation to Hawaii to boost cultural relations with the Pacific island state, reports said Thursday (June 6).

Hualien County Commissioner Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚), academics, and Indigenous artists attended a Pacific culture festival and visited Brigham Young University Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center, per CNA. The county chief emphasized Taiwan's key role in developing Indigenous languages and cultures in the Pacific, with trade taking jade objects to other islands in the region.

She said National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) was the only university in Taiwan with an institute specialized in Indigenous culture. Through its policies, the county has shown its concern for local cultures.

Hawaii and Hualien County sought to deepen their cooperation, not just on Indigenous issues but between academic and business circles, Hsu said. The two regional governments had reached a high level of consensus about the protection, promotion, and development of Indigenous cultures, said Hualien County officials.