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Forum says social changes the cause of lower birth rate

Representatives of nongovernmental organizations attending a forum yesterday identified changing perceptions on marriage and having children as the crucial factor leading to the low birth rate in Taiwan in recent years.

Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華), secretary general of the Youth Rights Alliance, released the results of a survey during the Taiwan-Japan Civil Society Forum yesterday, which showed that 41 percent of Taiwanese men do not want to get married, and that 27 percent of Taiwanese women were opting to remain single.

Yeh also said that 4 percent of children now born in Taiwan were born outside of wedlock.

Pointing out that the nation's abortion rate is among the highest in Asia, she said that the amount of Mifepristone -- also known as RU-486, a drug used to induce abortion in the early weeks of pregnancy -- consumed last year was more than 160,000 doses.

The increase in the number of DINKs -- double income no kids -- and homosexual couples has also contributed to low population growth, she said.

Despite noticeable social changes, Yeh said that financial status remains the main reason why more couples have refrained from having children. This trend has become more prevalent in recent years as more young couples have become laden down with credit card debt.

The nation's low birth rate will become a serious issue, as the ratio of the nation's retired elderly to those still in employment will be reduced from the current one to seven to one to two by 2040 if the current trend continues, she said.

Children in remote areas will face problems with their education as well, the forum panelists said. For example, they said, more schools in rural areas would be forced to close or would be annexed with schools nearby because of insufficient numbers of pupils.
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