One-third of all local government offices in Taiwan refuse to provide subsidies to single mothers with newborns even as Taiwan’s plummeting birthrate reaches new lows, according to information released yesterday.
Local regulations adopted by 36 township and district offices mean that single mothers with newborns will be unable to receive the between NT$2,000 and NT$10,000 in cash subsidies even if they meet all other requirements.
Those local government offices say that any request for a subsidy, which can run as high as a NT$100,000 bonus for triplets in Hsinchu City, must be accompanied by information proving the parents are legally married, in addition to other residency conditions.
The information, released yesterday by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英), led women’s advocacy organizations to call the regulations an active form of discrimination, especially against a group that needs the subsidies most.
“The [Constitutional Court] has already made it clear that any discrimination based on gender or marital status is a violation of gender equality principles,” said Chen Chao-ju (陳昭如), a National Taiwan University professor who heads the Awakening Foundation, a women’s rights group.
The regulations, she said, suggest that children born out of wedlock are not, from a government perspective, “ideal citizens.”
This is a new type of marital discrimination, which penalizes single mothers, she said.
Government statistics show there were 7,492 births by single mothers in 2009, out of a total of 191,310 nationwide. That number has steadily increased in the past decade, from 3.3 percent in 2000, when the birthrate was 305,312, to 3.9 percent last year.
LOW BIRTHRATE
Although providing the subsidies is a means to reverse the nation’s rapidly declining birthrate — which fell below 180,000 for the first time last year — it would be a mistake to ignore a growing segment who choose not to get married, Huang said.
“Taiwan’s birthrate is at a historic low. Under these circumstances … central government agencies down to local district offices should actively encourage more births … not discriminate based on gender and marital status,” she said.
However, local government offices say the subsidies are aimed at financial relief to families and that single mothers can apply for other types of assistance from the central government.
Several offices have said they were nevertheless reviewing those regulations.
SNUBBED
In Taoyuan City, which provides a subsidy of NT$5,000 per child to legally married couples who have resided in the municipality for more than six months, officials said single mothers applying for the subsidy would be turned away and referred to other agencies.
Other districts that also reject such applicants outright include Keelung and Hsinchu City. The same regulations also exist in areas in Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Chiayi, Hualien and Penghu counties as well as parts of Greater Kaohsiung.
New Taipei City (新北市) officials said the regulations were under review.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
RSS