Alternatives to babies
Last Saturday, the health minister told the United Daily News that Taiwan has the world’s lowest birthrate, at 1.07 per woman. This is even lower than Japan’s. A birthrate of more than 2.0 is needed for a population to replenish itself, but from the experience of Taiwan and other countries it is clear that Taiwan will not be able to raise its birthrate above that in the medium or even the long term. Therefore, Taiwan must adjust its immigration policies to sustain its population.
To attract qualified immigrants with skills and capital, more incentives will have to be introduced. For example, the government should consider exempting first-generation male immigrants who are naturalized as Taiwanese citizens from military service. Singapore grants a similar exemption to its first-generation permanent residents. As the government has already announced plans to end military conscription, such an exemption would not significantly detract from Taiwan’s defense needs.
SEAN KWAN
Kaohsiung
A new car for Ma?
In response to your headline piece on Tuesday (“DPP slams Ma’s campaigning expenses,” page 1), I have a suggestion: Why doesn’t President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) set a green example and demand that he be driven around in a cute little Toyota Prius? Or is it that only the lives of everyday people must be turned upside down to save the planet?
MICHAEL FAGAN
Tainan
A recent report concerning a student who is suing his teacher posed the question in its headline: Does failing a student in two subjects constitute bullying? The college student in Chiayi County apparently sought NT$2 million (US$63,603) in state compensation, but a court dismissed the case. The first reaction of many might have been to ask: What has happened to students nowadays? Some say that teachers have lost their authority, while others say students are overindulged. Some even start reminiscing over the days when “whatever the teacher says goes.” However, the real issue might be overlooked if emotional reactions like that are the
When I visited Taiwan last summer, I called on the nation to use its status as a technology superpower to build superweapons. It is obvious to me as I return a year later that Taiwan is now answering that call. By 2030, Taiwan envisions a domestic drone hub, capable of producing large quantities of drones per year. The nation continues to tighten cooperation across the private sector, scientific researchers and the elected government, on creating new and innovative production avenues for defense, while efforts to become central to the “democratic supply chain” are only increasing. Anduril is seeing all of these positive
President William Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) May 20 second-anniversary address was not just a routine policy review; it was damage control. US President Donald Trump’s remarks — that he did not want to see anyone move toward independence and that the delivery of a major Taiwan arms package could depend on the progress of US-China relations — unsettled Taiwan’s public and created an opening for opposition parties to question whether Taiwan was being treated as a bargaining chip in Washington’s dealings with Beijing. Lai’s speech was designed to close that opening. The address covered the expected ground: sovereignty, cross-strait relations, defense spending,
Singaporean former Prime Minister and current senior minister Lee Hsien- Loong(李顯龍) last month stood on Chinese soil and told Beijing that Singapore cooperates because of “shared interests”, not because of common “ethnic descent,” a significant statement that has upended China’s cognitive warfare tactics of “ethnic nationalism.” Along with using its military buildup and economic growth to expand its international dominance, China has long deployed ethnic politics to promote the idea that all ethnic Chinese around the world, regardless of citizenship, share a tight bond with the Chinese motherland, by which it means the regime of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
RSS