研究期間：10108~10207;Hakka in Southeast Asia: Balik Pulau in Penang as an Example The ethnic identity and social visibility of Hakka themselves are two major topics in the Hakka researches. What does it mean about “Hakka” in Southeast Asia? In contemporary Taiwan Hakka Studies, majority of authors tended to define the “Southeast Asian Hakka” as a form of “ethnic group”; while some revealed the Hakka identity and consciousness among Southeast Asian Hakka as “underdeveloped ethnicity”. These statements usually meant a contemporary viewpoint which derived from the theories of ethnicity. However, such statements should be linked with the historical and political formation of different social structures within Southeast Asia countries. These statements, likewise, have contributed to the objective of this research in probing the connotation of “Hakka” in Southeast Asia. The purpose of this research is to elucidate the factors and circumstances leading to the emergence of “Hakka” and various Chinese dialect groups with particular reference to a “Hakka Community”－ Balik Pulau
