Mothers worry most about kids

As Mother's Day is one day away, Hsinchu's Single Party Club (SIP, 科學園區單身俱樂部) yesterday released a survey on Taiwanese mothers' concerns, showing that they most worry about their single adult children.

The SIP, located in the Hsinchu Science Park, is a large matchmaking company for single men and women.

According to the club's survey, conducted in March and April, most mothers aged between 40 and 80 say that they are worried about their adult children who are single at a suitable age for marriage.

About 70 percent of the 780 respondents say that the lack of legal and safe channels for their single adult children to meet other people worries them.

The SIP survey also pointed out that according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics (DGBAS, 主計處), almost 6 million Taiwanese people who are "at an appropriate age for marriage" are still single at present, which accounts for over a quarter of the nation's total population.

Many of the respondents say that if their unmarried adult children could get married soon, it would be the best gift for Mother's Day -- ?in Taiwan the second Sunday in May is for honoring mothers.

Meanwhile, another survey on the concerns of Taiwanese mothers was also released yesterday.

About 47.6 percent of mothers aged between 20 and 60 say that their children are in fact their heaviest burden, and about 42.7 percent of them say that they are worried about growing crime rates.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, about 31.2 percent of the mothers who were surveyed responded that they chose to get married due to "social pressure." About 19.7 percent of them said they got married for "no reason."

Only about 16.9 percent of the 1068 respondents say that they got married "for love."

The joint survey was recently conducted by the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation (TWRF, 婦女救援基金會), Clarins (克蘭詩), and Marie Claire (美麗佳人), a monthly magazine.