Taiwan has more single men than single women, the latest statistics from the Ministry of the Interior showed, amid concerns voiced by a lawmaker that single Taiwanese women are facing competition for local husbands from foreign nationals.
The issue came to the fore after People First Party Legislator Chang Show-foong (張曉風) said on Thursday that “men are developing the strange habit of marrying foreigners instead of Taiwanese women.”
Chang even referred to unmarried women in the country as shengnu (剩女) — literarilly, “leftover women.”
However, the ministry’s statistics for last year showed that there were 2.7 million single men aged 20-49, against 2.17 million single women in the same age group.
In the 35-49 age bracket, the number of unmarried men was 572,074, while the figure for women was 445,485, the statistics showed.
In 2010, 50.9 percent of women aged between 20 and 49 were married, compared with 44.3 percent of men in the same age group, the ministry’s figures showed.
The influence of Western and global values has changed modern Taiwanese’ perspective on marriage and is one of the main reasons behind the surplus of single men in the country, Department of Household Registration Director Hsieh Ai-ling (謝愛齡) said.
Moreover, single men these days tend to value their personal freedom and desires more, she said.
Another factor is that the busy lifestyle of young people today makes it difficult for them to meet new friends, she added.
As of last month, the number of foreign spouses in Taiwan was 461,121, with most of them being women, according to the ministry’s statistics.
Of the 309,967 spouses from China, about 93 percent were women, the figures showed.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS