The government is to roll out a new response plan to the nation’s low birthrate next year, with more than NT$7 billion (US$227.81 million) budgeted for additional parental leave and maternity benefits, although the details are still be worked out, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The ministry’s budget report showed that next year’s low birthrate response plan would allocate NT$3 billion more than last year’s NT$3.8 billion budget.
The budget was previously allocated under the low birthrate response plan and regulations for subsidizing wages during unpaid parental leave, designed to subsidize employed workers during parental leave.
Photo: Lee Ching-hui, Taipei Times
The plan promotes four major policies: comprehensive childcare, family-friendly workplaces, protecting children’s health and rights, and supportive measures for raising children.
It combines resources from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration.
Next year’s budget introduces new subsidies covering shortfalls in maternity benefits, indicating that such benefits might be increased.
The Ministry of Finance said that it has prepared the budget and plans, but the details are still being discussed and would be announced later.
Under the Labor Insurance Act (勞工保險條例), when an insured woman gives birth, she can claim up to two months’ salary in maternity benefits.
A total of 105,943 people seeking maternity benefits were approved last year, with total payouts exceeding NT$7.5 billion, data showed.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
The presence of Taiwanese politicians at China’s military parade tomorrow would send the wrong message to Beijing and the international community about Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, a national security official said yesterday. China is to hold the parade tomorrow to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. By bringing together leaders of “anti-West” governments such as Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus, the parade aims to project a symbolic image of an alliance that is cohesive and unbending against Western countries, the national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu
ENHANCING DETERRENCE: Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and China’s coastal areas without any logistical difficulties Japan is to deploy extended-range anti-ship missiles at a Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto to bolster its defenses, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday. The upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, with a range of more than 1,000km, would be capable of striking targets in the Taiwan Strait and along China’s coast. Originally limited to a few hundred kilometers, the Type 12 was recently modernized ahead of schedule. Deployment, initially slated for next year, has been accelerated after the upgrade was completed sooner than expected, the newspaper said. Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and
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