Many Hakka Canadians came together on June 29 to celebrate Hakka Heritage Week with a flag-raising ceremony at the Markham Civic Centre.
Hakka Canadian Association Honorary Chair and Markham Regional Councillor Joe Li together with Joe Samion, the association president, led off the afternoon’s events with presentations and a luncheon to celebrate this dynamic community. The event celebrates the Hakka culture, heritage, values, and cuisine. Many local dignitaries attended the event, including Deputy Mayor Michael Chan and some regional and local councillors.
It reflected a joyous and festive community gathering of the remarkable multicultural diaspora of the community. Li is a Hakka from India and hosted the first-ever 2023 World Hakka conference in Canada, in Markham.
There are about 80 million Hakka people around the world with around 20,000 living in the GTA. The Hakka people are originally part of the Han Chinese that lived mostly in the northeastern provinces but have their roots in the Central Plain.
Photo: Markham Regional Councillor Joe Li (centre) poses for a photo with other members of council during Hakka Heritage Week.
