Given these considerations, I agree with Lee's take on the issue. Therefore, the government should re-consider its population policy which aims to increase birth rates. At present, the government believes that the low birth rate will result in a bad population structure and a situation in which young people will have to take care of senior citizens.
However, this argument is rather odd, for most people these days are able to work until the age of 70 and do not need to be cared for for very long.
Second, most senior citizens use their own savings to care for themselves, which means they are by no means a burden on society.
Third, a large portion of the funds used to pay for those senior citizens who are cared for through the national pension program comes from tax contributions made by those retired people after many years of work. That means that the burden on young people, if any, is limited.
Therefore, it is more important to emulate Japan's policies for the elderly and enhance the competitiveness of future generations and reduce the government's burden than it is to raise the birth rate.
Tu Jenn-hwa is an associate professor in the Graduate Institute of National Development at National Taiwan University.
Translated by Daniel Cheng
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