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May 8, 2010
Baby bonus for Taipei
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Birth rates in Taipei dived to an all-time low in 2009 with fewer than 20,000 babies being born, down 40 per cent from a decade ago. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
<!-- story content : start --> TAIPEI - TAIWAN'S capital Taipei is to start paying couples to have babies, the city government said Friday, in the latest move by the island's officials to boost a world-low birth rate. Municipal authorities will give NT$20,000 (S$869) for every newborn baby from 2011 and offer monthly subsidies for children aged under five years old from lower-income families, the government said.'We hope the comprehensive plan will let young people feel more relaxed about having children,' Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin told reporters, adding the programme was expected to cost three billion Taiwan dollars annually. 'As a mayor, my top priority is to tackle the issues of low birth rates and an ageing population,' he said.
Birth rates in Taipei dived to an all-time low in 2009 with fewer than 20,000 babies being born, down 40 per cent from a decade ago, according to the city government. Various surveys have shown that many couples cited financial concerns, including rising child-care expenses, as their main reasons for not wanting to have babies. Taiwan's authorities have been offering various incentives to encourage births, amid growing concerns that a severe manpower shortage will trigger serious social and economic problems. The island's birth rate stood at 8.29 per 1,000 people last year, according to official figures. That compares with a global average of more than 20 births per 1,000 people, according to the United Nations. -- AFP
