declining support 結果共8筆

Vice President Lai Ching-te unveils plans to expand ＂National child care policy for ages 0-6＂ to ease family burdens. Increased subsidies for childcare costs and focus on early childhood education highlighted to address declining birth rates and support families with children.

In Taiwan, private universities like Tamkang University are merging departments due to declining student numbers and birth rates. Experts question the effectiveness of these mergers while education groups call for government support to maintain teaching quality and protect teacher and student rights.

The San Francisco overseas Chinese community hosted a New Year flag-raising ceremony, with Fremont Mayor Lily Mei encouraging the next generation to run for office and speak out for Asians. Mei also urged the community to vote robustly in the upcoming T U.S.-Taiwan relations and reminded them not to underestimate individual power. Director-General Scott Lai of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco reviewed Taiwan’s accomplishments last year, highlighting its rise in various indices, ranking second in freedom in Asia and sixth in global competitiveness. Lai also noted the meeting between Morris Chang, founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), and key U.S. officials at the 2023 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, praising it as a symbol of U.S. executive branch support for Taiwan. However, Lai acknowledged challenges lie ahead for Taiwan, particularly in its tourism, sightseeing, and restaurant industries’ recovery, as well as social issues such as declining birthrates and wealth disparity. Lai assured that the government would take a more proactive and responsible stance to make positive changes felt by the public.

The Chiayi City Government has announced a subsidy program for pregnant women using taxi services, in an effort to create a more pregnancy-friendly environment and counteract the city’s declining birthrate. Starting from New Year’s Day, the subsidies for expectant mothers’ taxi rides will increase from NT＄2,800 to NT＄4,500, with a maximum subsidy per ride rising from NT＄100 to NT＄150. The program now includes travel for any medical visits, as long as the rides are with designated fleets to and from medical institutions. The validity of the transportation tickets has also been extended to include the first three months following the infant’s birth. The policy is targeted at Chiayi locals and former immigrant mothers whose spouses are registered residents of Chiayi. Additionally, Chiayi has introduced plans to provide emotional support, parenting guidance, legal counseling, and financial aid to pregnant women under 20.

Yunlin County plans to increase childbirth subsidies in four townships starting January 1, 2024, as part of efforts to boost birth rates. Dongshi Township, Citong Township, Dounan Town, and Erlun Township will offer subsidies of NT＄20,000, NT＄12,000, NT＄10,000, and NT＄6,000 respectively. The county government is also working on further augmenting childbirth allowances. Currently, seven townships in Yunlin County provide additional childbirth or nutritional subsidies, as the county has seen a decline in newborns from 3,340 in 2022 to 2,939 by November 2023. With 11 townships reporting fewer than 100 newborns, the declining birth rates are a wider issue affecting the entire region. Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan recognizes Taiwan’s demographic crisis and emphasizes the county’s proactive approach in addressing the challenge, with more details on enhanced benefits for expecting families to be announced soon.

The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) campaign headquarters head, Huang Shan-shan, revealed internal polling data on the TPP’s Ko-Ying ticket, claiming they rank second in the presidential race. The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Lai-Hsiao ticket leads with a 29.9% support rate, followed closely by the Ko-Ying ticket at 27.6%, with the Kuomintang’s (KMT) Hou-Kang ticket trailing at 24.3%. However, this tactic was criticized by Shih Hsin University communications professor Yu Tzu-hsiang, who accused Huang of engaging in propaganda. Professor Yu suggested that the KMT’s unified force has gained momentum, contrasting with TPP candidate Ko Wen-je’s declining support after the failed KMT-TPP coalition. Yu argued that Ko should focus on vigorous campaign activities to garner public and media attention rather than relying on internal polls.

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je expressed disappointment in the failure to establish an alliance with the Kuomintang (KMT), citing his medical background and trust in others as a disadvantage in politics. He believes that the mishandling of the breakup with the KMT has led to his declining support. Despite the acrimony, Ko hinted at potential future cooperation with Foxconn’s founder Terry Gou, acknowledging their maintained contact for policy collaboration. Ko praised Gou’s think tank on finance and economics for its excellent work, revealing that his team has consulted and adopted numerous economic policy suggestions from Gou’s proposals. The focus at this stage is on policy partnership, with paths toward collaborative governance remaining open between the two camps.

Taiwan’s declining birth rates reshape the rental housing market around universities. High vacancy rates prompt landlords to cut prices to attract tenants amidst the changing landscape.