Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) and representatives from several women’s groups yesterday said a “mother-friendly” environment should be created for women so that they would not have to worry about having children.
“The state is responsible for giving women a good and safe environment so they can feel safe bringing a new life into this world,” Huang told a press conference at the legislature. “This is the best Mother’s Day gift that the government can give to mothers in Taiwan.”
Women often suffer during pregnancy and risk their lives when giving birth to a child, Huang said, adding that when a child is born, it represents a heavy economic burden to the family.
“Women will think twice about having babies if they have so much to worry about,” Huang said.
Taiwan Women’s Link -secretary-general Tsai Wan-fen (蔡宛芬) said many women had to give up their career because of the high costs of babysitting.
“Moreover, though the law allows mothers to take paid maternity leave, employers often ‘hint’ that such leave should not be taken, or even give bad employee evaluations to those who want to take maternity leave,” Tsai said.
Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights -secretary-general Kao Pei-chin (高珮瑾) said she was concerned about the fate of unmarried mothers.
While it is already difficult for a married woman with a newborn to keep her job while taking care of a child, the situation can be worse for unmarried women.
“According to the Act for Assisting Families in Special Situations [特殊境遇家庭扶助條例], an unmarried woman with a child is only entitled to a total of between NT$40,000 and NT$50,000 in support over a three-month period if she quits her job,” Kao said. “This is barely enough to support herself.”
Instead of giving out a NT$1 million cash award for creating a slogan to increase childbirth, “the government should come up with some actual policies and actions to help mothers in this country,” Huang said.
Some of the ideas proposed by Huang and the groups included establishing more public childcare centers, creating childbirth-risk pensions and allowing mothers to collect payments from the national pension plan.
The Ministry of the Interior’s Social Affairs Department Deputy Director Chen Su-chun (陳素春) said the government would look into the suggestions, but added that it was unlikely the ministry would allow mothers to draw a childbirth stipend from the national pension program.
“The idea behind the current national pension program is to give those who are unemployed better protection in their old age,” Chen said. “Right now, we don’t have a plan to change this.”
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
RSS