Measures to encourage Taiwanese to have more children have failed to reverse the declining birth rate in Taiwan, the latest Ministry of the Interior (MOI) statistics showed.
The number of newborns last year was 191,300 — a record low — and fell below 200,000 for the second consecutive year, after 198,733 children were born in 2008.
A report on world population trends published by the US-based Population Reference Bureau said that Taiwan had the lowest birth rate in the world, with one woman giving birth to one child on average.
The government has implemented a series of measures to enhance the wellbeing of children, including education coupons, medical subsidies, daycare subsidies and parental leave subsidies.
New parents are also entitled to two years of unpaid parental leave to raise their child.
Still, the birth rate has continued to decline.
Local governments have also offered incentives, with Hsinchu and Chiayi cities and Hsinchu, Changhua and Yunlin counties all granting cash subsidies to women who give birth.
Hsinchu City, for example, gives parents NT$15,000 for their first child, NT$20,000 for their second child and NT$25,000 for their third child.
Wang Yun-tung (王雲東), an assistant professor at National Taiwan University, said that raising children was a long-term process, while the government’s incentive programs were often short-term or lump-sum payments, which do not provide “enough encouragement.”
Wang said the government should start by improving the overall environment to deal with the issue.
Interior Minister Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said recently that the lack of interest in having children could be related to a weak economy, the deterioration of the natural environment and political uncertainty.
“If the basics are not improved, then all other measures will have a limited effect,” Jiang said.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS