Weird,
After having lived in this city for almost 10 years and seeing how crowded it is, I’m more than a little surprised that the government would propose such a program.
Taiwan is taking drastic action to address its record low birth rate by paying couples to have babies.
The cost of having a baby is putting couples off in Taiwan
The government in the capital Taipei said it would give 20,000 Taiwan dollars (£429) for every newborn from 2011, plus monthly subsidies to lower-income families with children under five.
“We hope the comprehensive plan will let young people feel more relaxed about having children,” Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin said.
“As a mayor, my top priority is to tackle the issues of low birth rates and an ageing population,” he added.
Birth rates in Taipei were at an all-time low in 2009 with fewer than 20,000 babies born.
The drop of 40% from a decade ago is attributed to financial concerns, especially the rising cost of childcare.
This incentive is the latest in a series of proposals to encourage births and the programme is expected to cost three billion Taiwan dollars annually.
The city government is concerned that a decrease in population will lead to serious social and economic problems in the future.
The island’s birth rate stood at 8.29 per 1,000 people last year, according to official figures.
That compares with a global average of more than 20 births per 1,000 people, according to the United Nations.
The rate of births last year here in Taiwan was the lowest in the world. It was below the point of being able to sustain a country. In other words, if young couples in Taiwan don’t start having children–then Taiwan will not be here for many more generations.
And, actually turning that figure around when it gets too low is quite hard to do. So, governments step in and try to encourage the babymaking. In this case it is kind of ironic since it was only 2 decades ago the gov. was advertising to it’s citizens here in Taiwan “two is enough” to discourage families having lots of children. I guess that plan worked too well.
In Korea, government offices shut down the power right at closing time one night a week, and encourage their employees to go home and be romantic. I read about it last year, but here is a recent article about it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8469532.stm
Korea also has increased their birth rate by making it illegal for doctor’s to tell expectant parents the gender of their unborn child. This has actually been a successful tacit since many parents were using this for selective abortion of girls. I would actually love to see Taiwan put this one into place too. The ratio of boy to girl births in this country is appalling.
Japan’s government is has also been working hard to increase her low birthrate.
I saw this in the paper last week and was planning on blogging about it, too. Taiwan has the lowest birth rate in the world, which I guess makes social programs hard to sustain (not enough young people to support the older generations). With so many people around, it’s hard to believe, but we have been told that many of the elementary schools have seen drastically reduced numbers in recent years. I read, too, that according to polls, most people in Taipei who already have one child have no plans for another, which hurts the birth rates. It’s interesting.
How amazing. What a contrast to the USA where more and more government funding goes toward abortion! And Hollywood/ advertisers continue to promote the idea that children are a burden not a blessing.
Weird contrast. But good for Taiwan.