Ma joined some 1,500 Hakka people in a food offering ritual, where he hiked 6 kilometers in Pingtung’s Chutien township, carrying two large baskets of food with a carrying pole across his shoulders.

In the company of Lee Yung-teh, chairman of the Cabinet-level Hakka Affairs Council, Chiu Yi-ying, deputy chairwoman of the council, and Tsai Hao, an independent legislative candidate, Ma finished the “meal offering” hike in somewhat more than one hour.

Ma, who addressed everybody in the Pingtung Hakka village in his newly-acquired Hakka dialect, said he feels honored to have the opportunity to take part in the Hakka “meal offering” hiking event and is overwhelmed by the spirit demonstrated by the Hakka people when it comes to commemorating their ancestors.

The KMT presidential candidate said it was the sixth time that he has taken part in Hakka “Yimin” activities, adding that he presided over five Yimin festivals during his stint as Taipei Mayor in the past.

Topping all Hakka activities is the annual Yimin Festival, which is routinely observed in Taiwan in every July of the Chinese calendar.

The “meal offering” hiking was part of a series of Hakka activities to commemorate their ancestors. The festival originated in the Hsinchu area, northern Taiwan, to commemorate the late 18th century Hakka militia who sacrificed their lives to protect their homelands. Hakka men and women secretly carried meals to the Yimins — members of the Hakka militia — so that the armed volunteers could dedicate themselves to protecting the Hakka people’s homeland.

In late 18th century Taiwan, Hakka settlers from mainland China suffered greatly from murdering and looting rebel forces. When the ruling Ching Dynasty was unable to put an end to the insurrection, some 1,300 Hakka volunteers in the Hsinchu area formed the “Yimin army” to protect their settlements.

The rebellion was quelled by the joint operations of Ching troops and the Hakka militia, with severe casualties suffered by the Hakka volunteers. To commemorate the dead, Hakka families in the region erected a shrine in Hsinpu, Hsinchu in 1790 and the Yimin spirits have been worshipped as local deities ever since.

The “Yimin beliefs” were so powerful and influential that they were introduced to other parts of the island and to the rest of Southeast Asia by Hakka emigrants.

In addition to the “original” Yimin Temple in Hsinpu, there are 41 branches around the island. Over the years, these gods have been given multiple roles as guardians of the land, protectors against pests, and guardian angels for Hakka men in military service and for drivers.

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