<
https://theconversation.com/why-taiwans-falling-birth-rate-has-become-a-national-security-issue-219968>
"Christmas is coming to Taipei and the city is at least partially decked out
for the season. In Muzha, on the city’s outskirts, the Catholic church has set
up a nativity scene. There is as yet no baby in the manger and the scene looks
rather forlorn. That’s somehow appropriate for Taiwan, where there is a dearth
of actual babies in cradles.
Over the road from the church are two pet-grooming shops, testimony to the
changing composition of Taiwanese households. There are more registered cats
and dogs in Taiwan than there are children under ten. As the country heads
towards its eighth presidential election, to be held on January 13 2024, it is
hitting a new low in births per year.
Taiwan’s fertility rate is one of many things on the minds of the three
presidential candidates: front-runner Vice President Lai Ching-te, the
candidate for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP); close rival Hou Yu-ih,
running for the once all-powerful KMT; and Ko Wen-je, candidate for Taiwan
People’s Party (TPP), the latest of a series of minor parties to make a splash
in the country’s lively electoral landscape.
Ko is a populist who offers disaffected youth an alternative to the two large
parties. He effectively politicised the fertility rate when he called a press
conference on November 7 specifically to discuss responses to the declining
birth rate.
Apart from announcing his own ten-point plan, notable for its novel pregnancy
bonus, he took the opportunity to wax sarcastic about Hou’s planned third-child
bonus and to attack Lai’s record on related policies.
In response, Lai’s team drew attention to Ko’s long history of misogynistic
statements such as “unmarried women are like disabled parking spaces” and
“[unmarried women] are causing instability and a national security crisis”.
In fact, all candidates take the problem of the falling birth rate seriously.
For three years now, deaths have exceeded births in Taiwan. Only immigration is
preventing a real decline in population.
The policies the candidates offer vary more in detail than in substance: the
particular amounts of money differ, as do the circumstances under which the
money is paid. But in the end, their policies all amount to throwing money at
the problem."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
