Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday talked about policy proposals aimed at addressing Taiwan’s low birthrate, including cash handouts for mothers and the expansion of a monthly subsidy program.
Ko told a news conference that, if elected, he would enact a policy to give new mothers NT$100,000 (US$3,106), and NT$50,000 when they are three months pregnant.
Ko said he would also expand the monthly child-rearing subsidies given to parents with children under the age of six, to include children up to the age of 12.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
He would launch a drive to amend “outdated” maternity leave regulations and extend the leave from eight to 14 weeks, in line with international norms, Ko said.
He would establish more public daycare centers that would care for children past normal business hours so that parents would not have to rush to pick up their toddlers during or after work, Ko said, adding that he would also raise the salary for daycare center staff.
He said he would create a Cabinet-level “population development commission” to streamline efforts to tackle the country’s low birthrate.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
He would legalize surrogacy and lift restrictions on donating egg cells, Ko said, not elaborating.
He would instruct the Cabinet to allocate a NT$10 billion fund to push birthrate-related policies and name model cities or countries that introduce policies that are friendly to expectant mothers and parents with young children.
Citing statistics released by the National Development Council, Ko said that Taiwan’s birthrate has trailed its mortality rate since 2020, adding that if the government does not address the problem, Taiwan’s population could be halved by 2070.
In other news, Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, yesterday announced that his campaign director would be political commentator Yao Li-ming (姚立明), formerly Ko’s chief campaign director when he was running for Taipei mayor in 2014.
Lai said the choice would help him defeat Ko in the January presidential election.
Lai, who is the DPP’s chairman, said that the party would next week unveil its list of legislator-at-large candidates, and the week after that would announce the name of his running mate.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
RSS