The nation’s aging population and declining birthrate have long been important issues, but the government has not paid enough attention to it, and now a leading official has said that it was too late to cure the problem by any means except to alleviate the impact of a fast-aging population.
Minister without Portfolio James Hsueh (薛承泰) said Taiwan had missed its chance to solve its population problem and whatever policy measures it takes now or in the future will only have limited success.
“The most important thing now is to gain more time to lessen the impact of our fast aging population,” Hsueh said at a seminar held last week.
According to a study by the Industrial Technology Research Institute, people aged 65 years and older will account for 14 percent of Taiwan’s population by 2017, a figure that will rise to 20 percent by 2025.
Hsueh, who is an expert on population issues, said EU countries began to adopt counter--measures when their birthrate fell to an average of 1.6 births per woman. Such efforts have maintained their birthrates at that level, he said.
Taiwan’s birthrate declined to 1.6 children per woman in 2000, but the government did not do enough to deal with the problem, so now “whatever policy measures are adopted, the effects will be limited at best,” he said.
Japan’s aging problem is even more serious than Taiwan’s, Hsueh said, adding that Taiwan can learn from Japan with regard to raising the birthrate. He said Japan has encouraged women to work and has ensured their right to employment — measures that have been conducive to increasing the birthrate.
As for helping senior citizens, Hsueh said, Japan has taken steps to make flexible use of their assets by lowering the tax on grants and implementing a policy of “reverse mortgages.”
Under the reverse mortgage system, senior citizens who own houses or apartments can borrow money from banking institutions for living expenses on the understanding that when they die, their property will be taken over by the creditor.
Hsueh cited European examples to show how government policies can address the population imbalance issue. Sweden has a good childcare system that helped raise women’s employment rate, and France has worked to improve its childcare and employment environment, which helped its birthrate to rise in the mid-1990s, he said.
Hsueh said Taiwan must do something to improve its job market, provide incentives for raising the next generation and improve living conditions for senior citizens to reduce the impact of its aging society.
Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), who also took part in the seminar, said it took France as long as 115 years to “become a gradually aging society.”
It took the US 73 years, but Taiwan encountered its aging crisis in just 24 years, he said.
The first group of baby boomers, born in 1946, became 65-year-olds this year, indicating that Taiwan has formally entered the era of a “graying population,” he said.
With the country expected to see 20 percent of its population reach 65 or over by 2025, Taiwan is “aging at an unimaginable pace,” Siew said.
“If we do not do something to cope with this situation, such as helping the elderly remain healthy and live independently — preferably asking them to extend their contribution to society — our country will face a grave crisis of reduced productivity and competitiveness,” Siew said.
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