Taipei, Nov. 7 (CNA) Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential nominee Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Tuesday put forward a raft of policy proposals aimed at addressing Taiwan’s low birth rates, including cash handouts for mothers and expanding a monthly subsidy program.
At a news conference, Ko pledged to enact policies to provide new mothers with a one-time payment of NT$100,000 (US$3,105), as well as NT$50,000 when they are three months pregnant.
Ko said he would also expand monthly child-rearing subsidies, currently given to parents of children under 6, to cover children between the ages of 6 and 12.
He would also launch a legal drive to amend the “outdated” maternity leave regulations and extend the leave from 8 to 14 weeks, consistent with international norms, Ko said.
He would establish more public daycare centers that can care for children past normal business hours so that parents would not have to rush to pick up their toddlers during or after work while also raising the salary of daycare center staff, he said.
He would create a Cabinet-level “population development commission” to streamline efforts to tackle the country’s low birth rates, the former Taipei mayor said
Ko said he would lift restrictions on donating eggs, without elaborating, and legalize surrogacy.
He would instruct the Cabinet to allocate an NT$10 billion fund to push birth rate-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 Taiwan’s birth rates had trailed mortality rates for three years straight since 2020, adding that if the government did not address the problem, Taiwan’s population could fall by half by 2070.
