President William Lai (賴清德) today announced a new population strategy with 18 measures to counter Taiwan’s low birthrate and aging population, from monthly subsidies for children up to age 18, to expanded assisted reproduction assistance and policies to create a more family-friendly workplace culture.
Raising children would no longer be the responsibility of the parents alone, but a joint effort by the state, society and businesses, Lai told a news conference at the Presidential Office following a meeting on the nation’s population strategy.
The strategy would move Taiwan fully beyond subsidy-based childcare and toward a publicly supported childcare model, he said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The policy package would require an estimated additional annual budget of NT$205 billion (US$6.52 billion), with total planned funding of NT$380 billion, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said.
The 18 strategies are separated into three stages — childbirth, childrearing and education — and four key strategies: increased subsidies, lighter loads, greater flexibility and expanded care, the Presidential Office said.
The policies address five priority areas: a secure start for families, strengthened childcare, investing more in education, family-friendly workplaces and easing housing pressures, it said.
The policy package would benefit both parents equally to support them in balancing childcare responsibilities with work, Lai said.
“An advanced country must never force anyone — especially women — to choose between career and family,” he said.
The policies encompass tax reductions for families with children; extended marriage leave, maternity leave and paternity leave; and maternity insurance benefits.
One of the strategies is to provide a monthly NT$5,000 subsidy to families with children aged up to six, while families with children aged six to 18 would be granted an NT$2,500 monthly payment, with the government investing another NT$2,500 into an interest-generating account that the child may withdraw at age 18.
Those savings accounts would have returns guaranteed at no less than the interest rate of a two-year fixed deposit, and would contain at least NT$360,000 once the child reaches 18, Chang said.
Investing in children is an investment in all three generations of a family, Lai said, adding that the policy aims to support children as they enter the next stage of their lives.
Another notable policy would expand subsidies for assisted reproduction, providing more funding for those under 40 compared with those aged under 45, to encourage earlier treatments with higher efficacy rates, Chang said.
Lai also directed the Executive Yuan to establish a task force to implement the new population strategy and monitor progress, convened by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰).
Additional reporting by CNA
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