Beginning this month, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) will distribute pamphlets through various household registration offices to target individuals who are encountering new stages in their life, such as having a baby, becoming a single parent, getting married or moving to Taiwan as a foreign spouse.
Given statistics that illustrate that Taiwan's social demography and structure are rapidly changing, the MOI has been devising different policies to address the changes.
Last year, there were 31,310 couples registered to be married in which one spouse was Taiwanese and the other was a foreigner. Out of the 131,453 couples registered last year, such international couples made up 23.8 percent of the total.
Meanwhile, the divorce rate has sharply increased in the past few years. In 1983, the number of divorced couples was 3,263, while in 2003, the number increased to 64,995.
The MOI also said in a statement last week that over the years, the birthrate has sharply declined. Therefore, children born to foreign spouses are making up an increasing proportion of the population.
Last year, 17,567 Taiwanese men married foreign women, while 2,771 women married foreign men.
Among the female foreign spouses that are legal residents in Taiwan, 70 percent are Vietnamese, 12 percent are Indonesian and 6 percent are Thai.
Meanwhile, 38 percent of male foreign spouses are Thai, 10 percent are Japanese and 9.9 percent are Americans.
In light of the number of international couples, the MOI feels that different parenting styles may be a potential source of conflict among the couples, and that parents and children in multicultural families face unique challenges. Therefore, the MOI has prepared a series of pamphlets geared toward such families.
The Bureau of Children has translated the pamphlets, which provide parenting tips to families with children up to the age of 3, into four languages: English, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese.
The pamphlet is also available in Chinese for Taiwanese parents.
In addition, 113, the 24-hour toll-free emergency helpline for women and children will offer services in English, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian and Cambodian beginning on April 10.
Given the increased number of divorces -- which has led to an increase in the number of single-parent families -- the ministry has also designed a pamphlet for parents who have just gone through a divorce and need assistance in getting through the transition period.
Also, a pamphlet targeting newlyweds aims at reducing domestic violence and improving family relations.
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