Men play the dominant role when it comes to making decisions about planned parenthood, social and medical experts said.
"In recent years, birthrate research conducted in the US has been focusing on men instead of women, because studies show that men's willingness to reproduce is the key to parenthood," said Joyce Feng (馮燕), vice president of the Child Welfare League Foundation.
In a seminar held by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and a Chinese-language parenting magazine yesterday, experts discussed the factors behind the drastic birthrate decline in Taiwan.
According to the MOI, the current birth rate is 1.24 per woman.
In a survey conducted by the magazine, 18.9 percent of female respondents said they did not wish to have children of their own, while 34.6 percent of male respondents said the same.
Wu Wen-hao (吳文豪), chairman of Child Health Promotion Society (中華民國兒童保健協會), stated that high standards of education, people marrying at a late age, increased female participation in labor market and the high costs associated with parenting contribute to the low birthrate.
"People who are going through academic pursuits are not inclined to have children. Therefore, the increased level of education delays the process of childbirth," Wu said.
Hsieh Ai-ling (謝愛齡), director of the ministry's Population Administration Department, pointed out that men who do house chores react more positively to parenthood.
"According to a study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, men who are more interested in doing house chores are more likely to have children," Hsieh said.
Soong Yung-kuei (宋永魁), deputy superintendent of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said the variety of available contraception measures is one of the factors resulting in low birthrates.
"Generally, infertility is not a very serious issue in Taiwan, and the costs associated with artificial insemination are reasonable according to international rates. However, the prevalence of birth control measures makes the decision not to have children easy," Soong said.
According to Soong, due to the increased education levels among Taiwanese women, the favorable ages to have children are pushed back to between 30 and 34.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan