The number of babies born in the nation during the first six months of the year reached 82,712, a decline of 8.9 percent compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of the Interior’s latest statistics released on Saturday showed.
The ministry attributed the drop to some people’s reluctance to have children born in the “Year of the Tiger,” in the 12-year cycle of animals on the Chinese zodiac.
However, the drop was smaller than the 16.7 percent year-on-year decline in the previous Year of the Tiger in 1998, the ministry said in a statement.
For the period from January to last month, there was a crude birth rate of only 3.58, the lowest level ever in Taiwan, the statistics showed. Crude birth rate is calculated based on the number of babies born per 1,000 people per year.
Taiwan had one of the world’s lowest birth rates with eight births per 1,000 people last year, far lower than the global average of 20 births per 1,000 people.
Last year, 191,310 babies were born in Taiwan, down nearly 4 percent from the previous year.
The latest ministry tallies show that Hsinchu City, the high-tech hub near Taipei, recorded the highest birth rate, 5.8 per 1,000, among all cities and counties in Taiwan, followed by 5.37 in Kinmen County and 5 in Hsinchu County.
More than 90 percent of newborn babies in the first six months of the year were born to local mothers, while 5 percent were born to mothers from China, Hong Kong and Macau and 3.9 percent to mothers from other countries, the statistics showed.
The government has launched many programs to boost the birth rate, including subsidies for families to hire nannies or have their babies attend day care centers, as well as subsidies for people who want to go on extended parental leave, the ministry said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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