In the hope of encouraging more births in the area, Hualien County’s Fuli Township (富里) is offering a subsidy of NT$100,000 for every child born to couples registered in the area. Some people, lured by the not insignificant amount of cash, have registered their residence in the area, but then moved away again.
Fuli residents have hit back, saying that if people have no intention of settling in the area they should not receive the subsidy. Their objection is spot-on, because what rural areas need is a young population and for people to give birth to more children if the area is to have any hope of thriving.
There are many communities in the hills of Nantou County with pleasant weather and wonderful scenery, and although a minority of the people moving to the area have done so for the more relaxed lifestyle, the majority are retirees. Generally, it is only on the weekends or vacations that young people visit, families in tow, but they only stay for a brief time, and are unlikely to settle in the area.
Offering subsidies for childbirth might increase the number of newborns officially registered in the locale, but it will not draw young people to the area in any meaningful way. If rural communities want to encourage young couples to settle down in their areas, they must give serious thought to how to make them want to stay.
The most important thing is the living environment, which would include basic infrastructure, the quality of the schools and the leisure activities available. Generally speaking, the infrastructure and facilities in rural areas are pretty sparse, and children do not have anywhere to go, which is a real headache for parents.
Young parents take education very seriously, and would do everything they can in the hope that their children obtain a good education so that they are more competitive in the workplace when they leave school.
Today’s young people also put a premium on their leisure time, and with the sparse facilities available in the countryside, they would be concerned that if they move there it would be like living the life of a semi-hermit, an idea that they would find hugely challenging.
Instead of dishing out cash in return for attractive-looking household registration statistics, councils would be better served looking at how to improve the overall quality of life in the area to draw young couples to live and raise their children there.
Chen Chi-nung is the principal of Shuili Junior High School in Nantou County.
Translated by Paul Cooper
No matter what indicator you use, Russian President Vladimir Putin is winning in the energy markets. Moscow is milking its oil cash cow, earning hundreds of millions of US dollars every day to bankroll the invasion of Ukraine and buy domestic support for the war. Once European sanctions against Russian crude exports kick in from November, the region’s governments will face some tough choices as the energy crisis starts to bite consumers and companies. Electricity costs for homes and businesses are set to soar from October, as the surge in oil income allows Putin to sacrifice gas revenue and squeeze supplies to
In an August 12 Wall Street Journal report, Chinese sources contend that in their July 28 phone call, United States President Joe Biden was told by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping (習近平) that “he had no intention of going to war with the US” over House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s then upcoming visit to Taiwan. However, there should be global alarm that Xi did use that visit to begin the CCP’s active war against democracy in Taiwan and globally, and that the Biden Administration’s response has been insufficient. To hear CCP officials, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) spokesmen, and a
Much of the foreign policy conversation in the US over the past two weeks has centered on whether US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi ought to have visited Taiwan. Her backers pointed out that there was precedent for such a visit — a previous House speaker and US Cabinet members had visited Taiwan — and that it is important for officials to underscore the US’ commitment to Taiwan in the face of increasing Chinese pressure. Critics argued that the trip was ill-timed, because Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would likely feel a need to respond, lest he appear weak
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) founder and former chairman Robert Tsao (曹興誠) on Friday last week pledged to donate NT$3 billion (US$100 million) to help Taiwan protect itself from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) aggression. While still UMC chairman, Tsao gained a reputation for supporting unification with China and backing parties such as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the New Party and the People First Party, which have similar leanings. During a TV show on Monday, host Clara Chou (周玉蔻) asked Tsao which politicians he now supported. Tsao said he had supported the New Party when it formed, had become disappointed by People First