In the face of declining fertility rates, the government plans to expand childcare support and encourage people to have more children, as long as it is able to bear the financial cost, Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i said in an interview with ‘Liberty Times’ (sister newspaper of the ‘Taipei Times’) staff reporters Jennifer Huang and Rachel Lin
Taipei Times
Date: Dec 25, 2017
By: Jennifer Huang and Rachel Lin / Translated by staff writer Sherry Hsiao
Liberty Times (LT): There were early warnings of the trend toward having fewer children.
Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i speaks at an event in Taipei on Nov. 25. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Has the government reacted too slowly?
Lin Wan-i (林萬億): Taiwan had its highest fertility rate between 1946 and 1964, during the post-war baby boom. During that time, each woman gave birth to an average of five to seven children, as the nation’s agrarian society depended on labor.
However, between 1965 and 1983, Taiwan entered the industrial age and the fertility rate dropped to between 2.1 and 3.8 children per woman. As Taiwan transitioned into a service-based economy, it further dropped to between 1.7 and 2.1 children per woman.
People who were born during the age of high fertility constituted a formidable labor force and created a demographic dividend, but in 2002 the total fertility rate dropped to 1.3 children per woman. It took less than four years for the fertility rate to drop from 1.7 children per woman to 1.3 children per woman — like going down a slide. [FULL STORY]
