The Executive Yuan on Wednesday unveiled a series of policies aimed at boosting the nation’s birthrate — last year only saw 193,000 births and a national fertility rate of 1.125 — by easing the financial burden of parents or soon-to-be parents.
Although the cost of raising a child is daunting — particularly in a nation like Taiwan, which is plagued by stagnant wages and soaring house prices — a recent incident at the Presidential Office Building showed that the difficulties facing most Taiwanese parents are not just confined to their purse strings.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday last week received navy honor guard member Su Chi-lin (蘇祈麟) — who on May 7 finished fourth and won a special award in the solo finals at the World Drill Championships — as well as his family.
The event was supposed to allow Tsai to recognize Su for his achievement and to offer him a few words of encouragement. However, Su’s two-year-old daughter, who ran around the meeting hall and melted many hearts with her mischievous innocence, ended up stealing the show.
Su’s lively daughter also made the headlines that day, with many media outlets describing her as an unusual delight in a place that is normally marked by formal diplomatic exchanges and solemn formality.
The girl’s behavior drew immediate criticism online, with some blasting Su and his wife for doing nothing to rein in their child at an event that demanded manners, while others criticized the daughter for “lacking discipline” in front of the nation’s head of state.
The harsh comments induced Su’s wife to issue a public apology on Facebook, saying that she had been holding her daughter before the president entered the room, but that government officials told her that Tsai is friendly toward children and does not mind their behavior.
The Presidential Office on Friday last week issued a statement in defense of Su’s wife, saying that many officials were enthusiastic about her daughter’s presence, that the president had not minded her running around and that Tsai believed children should be allowed to act in a way that makes them feel comfortable.
The public’s criticism of Su’s daughter epitomizes the nation’s deep-rooted social culture of emotional suppression, and the prioritization of manners and discipline over genuineness and authenticity.
This can be seen at family gatherings where parents force their children to “say hi” to relatives who they barely know just so that the parents will not be labeled as “incompetent” and the children “ill-mannered.”
Young children being taught not to question a superior or reason with an older person even though they are in the right, or to “cause trouble” by pointing out an unreasonable situation, are other examples.
This kind of culture has created generations who blindly follow the rules, who are incapable of thinking outside of the box or who do not dare to raise a difference of opinion. This is why Taiwanese, in general, have a tendency to play it safe and follow the herd.
At a time when more and more nations are shifting their focus from labor-intensive manufacturing to innovation and knowledge-based industries, Taiwan’s need for talent capable of innovative and independent thinking will only increase.
For younger generations to possess these qualities, the first and most important step is for society to relax its grip and allow young children to explore — freely and unfettered — who they are, what they like and what they could potentially become in the years to come.
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