The nation’s low birth rate has bounced back slightly since 2011, following the enactment of fertility policies, although unsatisfying working conditions and low wages contribute to low fertility rates, National Taiwan University (NTU) research showed.
Birth rates have rebounded from a historic low of 0.91 children born per woman in 2010 to about 1.1 in recent years, which is possibly due to fertility policies and generational differences, NTU sociology professor Chen Yu-hua (陳玉華) said at a news conference held by the Ministry of Science and Technology on Wednesday last week.
“While the number of children born has steadily decreased, women born in the 1980s and later — despite generally giving birth at an older age — have overtaken women born in the 1970s in terms of the number of children born per person, due to the enactment of childbirth subsidies and maternity leave policies. It is likely that women born in the 1970s have the lowest fertility rate,” Chen said.
However, the nation’s birth rate is still too low, with an estimated 30 percent of people born in the 1990s and later unlikely to have children, and 40 percent unlikely to have grandchildren.
Low fertility rates are mainly caused by low household income, unfriendly work environments and the high cost of child rearing, coupled with limited government efforts to encourage women to have children, Chen said.
“Taiwan’s working conditions are such that women either dare not request maternity leave, or they are not reinstated to original positions following maternity leave,” she said.
Average household expenditure on children’s education in Taiwan is NT$781,702 — the highest in the world in terms of total household income — but the government has offered only limited assistance in child rearing compared with other nations, Chen said.
“Taipei’s total birth rate has climbed from about 10 percent in 2010 to nearly 14 percent in 2014 because the city launched a series of policies to encourage women to give birth, suggesting such policies can boost birth rates. Low birth rates and an aging population are increasingly common in lower-income areas, such as Nantou, Yunlin and Chiayi,” she said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS