Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), an independent presidential candidate, said Taiwan’s demographic crisis could be solved by giving new parents a cat or dog.
In an early sign of how his campaign might run, Gou told attendees at a Taipei temple on Friday that the declining birthrate could be addressed by giving new parents a cat or dog.
Taiwan has one of the world’s lowest birthrates, with many people citing the high cost of living, difficulties in accessing childcare and traditional gender expectations.
Photo: CNA
Meanwhile pet ownership is skyrocketing, with anecdotal reports suggesting many couples are choosing animals over children. However, Gou felt people could be motivated to take on both.
“Give birth to a child and I will let you raise one more pet,” he said, according to a translation by Formosa TV. “A cat, a dog. Give birth to two, and I will let you adopt two more.”
Getting a pet does not require government permission.
Gou said he had recently visited an animal shelter and felt that two issues could be solved together.
“If the birthrate falls too low in the future, who will take care of our furry friends?” he told reporters later. “So I hope to tackle these two issues together. You cannot expect me, one person, to propose a complete policy for every little matter. Adding and multiplying love, that is my goal.”
The proposal was criticized by some Democratic Progressive Party politicians and animal welfare groups.
Gou said that during the last presidential election, he had proposed government subsidies for childbearing costs up to the age of six, but it was not implemented.
Gou’s campaign has been contacted for comment.
Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals senior vice president Jason Baker said: “Animals are not gifts or prizes; they are living, feeling beings who require proper love, care, and attention for a lifetime.”
“Adopting an animal is an important decision that should be made carefully,” he said. “This responsibility may prove too much for people who are already taking care of a new baby, and they may end up taking the animals to already overburdened local shelters — or worse, abandoning them outdoors to fend for themselves.”
See stories on page 8
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS