Taipei residents who give birth next year will be eligible for a NT$20,000 subsidy, the Taipei City Government announced yesterday, as city officials seek to increase the city’s birthrate.
Starting on Jan. 1, the city government will give the subsidy to the guardians of newborns in Taipei City if either parent’s registered household has been in Taipei for more than a year. Families with children under five years old and an annual net income below NT$1.13 million (US$35,000) will also receive a monthly subsidy of NT$2,500.
The new policy is expected to cost the city NT$3 billion, with the families of about 110,000 newborns and children in Taipei City expected to benefit. Taipei City is the second local government to offer a childbirth subsidy of NT$20,000 after Kinmen County Government.
Announcing the new policy, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the city’s birthrate had experienced a continuous decline, adding that the city government also had to address an aging population.
“The number of newborns in Taipei City was a record low of only 19,403 last year. This is a serious issue and it is my duty to solve this problem,” he said yesterday at Taipei City Hall.
Taipei City Department of Social Welfare Commissioner Shih Yu-ling (師豫玲) said parents of children under five whose annual net income was lower than NT$1.13 million and who received no other subsidies from Taipei City would be eligible for a monthly subsidy.
In addition to the subsidy, the city government would also offer childcare services.
Department of Education Commissioner Kang Tsung-hu (康宗虎) said the department would implement the central government’s policy of offering free education at 133 municipal kindergartens, while after-school childcare services would be offered at more than 141 municipal elementary schools.
The policy attracted criticism from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors, who accused Hau of using it to solicit votes in November’s Taipei mayoral election.
“You [Hau] should have presented the childbirth policy sooner. Instead, you chose to announce the policy months before the election. This is obviously an attempt to use the policy to buy votes,” DPP Taipei City Councilor Lee Chien-chan (李建昌) said during a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (?? echoed Lee’s comments, questioning Hau over the effect of the policy.
“Apparently the city government is trying to boost Hau’s support rating with this policy, but this level of monetary incentive is not enough to persuade women in Taipei to give birth and raise a child,” she said.
Hau dismissed the councilors’ accusations, insisting that the city’s declining birthrate should be addressed sooner rather than later.
“I welcome any mayoral candidate to include this policy in their campaign platform and support the measure,” he said.
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