People have continued to migrate to northern Taiwan from the south in large numbers in the past six years, raising concerns over imbalanced population migration and regional development, according to the latest migration statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior.
More than 160,000 people migrated to northern Taiwan from abroad or other parts of the country between January 2008 and December last year, while central, southern and eastern Taiwan all experienced net population outflows, the statistics showed.
During the six-year period, New Taipei City (新北市), Taoyuan County, Greater Taichung, Kinmen County and Hsinchu County saw the biggest population inflows, while Changhua County and Pingtung County, both heavily reliant on agriculture, had the biggest population outflows.
The ministry said Kinmen County’s six-year population growth of 36,974 could be a result of its social welfare program and the impact of the “small three links” policy with China.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇) said measures would be taken to improve infrastructure and social welfare, and help young people stay in less-developed areas, while urban planning would have to be reviewed in densely populated cities to satisfy the public’s needs.
Last year, 8,077 people moved to Taoyuan County, which had the biggest population inflow in the nation, followed by 7,351 in Greater Taichung and 6,828 in Kinmen County. Changhua suffered the biggest outflow, with 6,148 people migrating out of the county, the ministry’s statistics showed.
Taiwan had a net migration inflow of about 14,000 people last year, which represented 25.1 percent of the total population increase, the ministry said.
Another recent phenomenon is that the nation’s gender ratio (males per 100 females) dipped below 100 for the first time to 99.99, according to the ministry’s statistics released early last month. This means that the female population in Taiwan surpassed the male population for the first time in the past century.
The ministry said it expected the ratio to consistently decrease in the future, but added that the gender ratio in most advanced democracies is below 100.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS