ACC Supported 5th Truku Mountain Market Showcasing Tribal Autonomy

The 5th Truku Mountain Market recently took place at the Old Railway Pedestrian Area in Hualien City, bringing together six major settlements of the Bsngan community. Drawing over a thousand visitors over two days, the event achieved record-breaking sales performance, with all proceeds directly benefiting the local stallholders. Featuring traditional Truku music and dance, indigenous cuisine, unique crafts, and youth-led creative brands, the event brought the rich culture of the Truku people into downtown Hualien, showcasing tribal cultural and industrial achievements to a broader audience.

The 5th Truku Mountain Market opens with great enthusiasm. Lee Kuen-Yen, President of Asia Cement Corporation (back row, 6th from right), poses with tribal members and the event organizing team, celebrating tribal self-governance and cultural preservation achievements. (Photo Credit: ACC)

First launched in 2022, the Truku Mountain Market was co-planned by Asia Cement Corporation (ACC) and the local tribe for its first three editions. Starting from the fourth edition, the Bsngan Tribal Council assumed primary leadership in planning and execution, with ACC providing supportive resources based on the community's needs—establishing a mature model of collaborative development. This year marked a major milestone, as the tribe autonomously managed the entire process from event design and vendor recruitment to marketing and on-site operations. By converting cultural performances, traditional crafts, local food, and youth ventures into direct economic revenue, the community demonstrated robust self-governance and tribal cultural brand management capabilities.

Moving to downtown Hualien City for the first time, Chen Shih-Cheng, Chairman of the Bsngan Tribal Council, noted that the location shift aims to bridge the gap between tribal communities and urban centers. This provides greater opportunities for the public to discover and engage with Truku culture while expanding commercial horizons for local indigenous businesses.

Chen Chih-Hsien, Plant Manager of ACC’s Hualien Plant, stated that the Bsngan community is a close neighbor of ACC, and members of the Truku tribe are vital partners in the company’s operations. Currently, approximately 430 Truku employees work at the Hualien Plant and its long-term contractors, accounting for nearly 30% of the total workforce. ACC has long utilized its "10+11" benefit-sharing mechanism, injecting over NT$10 million annually to support tribal education, cultural preservation, ecological restoration, and regional development, with the Truku Mountain Market serving as a key concrete initiative. This year, employees from the Hualien Plant brought their families to support the event, aided by vouchers distributed by ACC’s Employee Welfare Committee to encourage spending and boost tribal businesses.

Chen Shih-Cheng, Chairman of the Bsngan Tribal Council (right), guides Lee Kuen-Yen, President of Asia Cement Corporation, through the market stalls to support local tribal businesses. (Photo Credit: ACC)

Lee Kuen-Yen, President of Asia Cement Corporation, who has personally attended the market for five consecutive years, toured every stall to make purchases and support youth entrepreneurship. To boost visitor engagement, Lee personally sponsored additional daily check-in discount vouchers. In his remarks, Lee commended the tribal community and council for their deepening involvement each year, noting that the event "improves with every edition." He emphasized that the market not only elevates public visibility of Truku traditions and culture, but also demonstrates the collective strength of unity within the tribe.

Lee highlighted that corporate enterprise should not replace the tribe, but rather accompany the community in identifying its own path forward—working hand-in-hand toward harmony, shared prosperity, and mutual growth. Moving forward, Asia Cement will continue to advance land rights restoration, cultural preservation, youth empowerment, and local industry development, strengthening the tribe’s capacity for self-sustained growth and deepening a sustainable partnership built on shared prosperity.