Taiwan has been struggling with one of the lowest birth rates in the world for years. Now presidential candidate and multi-billionaire Terry Gou wants to boost this – with an unconventional idea.
Some countries and republics in Asia are running out of children. South Korea is one of them, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. For years, families there have been having fewer and later children, while the population is getting older. An economic and social challenge for the still young democracy. And from a military point of view, too, the low birth rate is a problem. Tensions between Taiwan and neighboring China are mounting – leaving the potential defender short of armed forces.
To counteract this, presidential candidate and multi-billionaire Terry Gou is proposing a solution that has caused controversy in Taiwan. Gou wants to offer newly established families a free pet. According to the Taiwanese television station Formosa TV, he said: “Have a child and I will make sure that you can also raise a pet.” Pets are popular in the island republic, at times more dogs and cats were registered there than newborns. However, keeping a pet does not require a government permit.
Taiwan government criticizes Terry Gou’s idea
The idea is received cautiously. The incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said Gou could not understand the pressure on new parents and treated living beings as material gifts. DPP politicians like Wu Szu-yao also referred to animal welfare in interviews.
The entrepreneur, in turn, defends his idea: “If there is no birth rate at all in the future, who would take care of our furry friends?” In addition, as a possible future president, he could not solve the problem of the falling birth rate alone: ”You cannot expect me as an individual to present a complete concept for every little thing. Spread and multiply love: that is my goal!”
Taiwan will hold elections in January. Terry Gou only announced his candidacy last week, he is running as an independent. The entrepreneur founded Foxconn in 1974, one of the largest Apple suppliers and electronics manufacturers in the world. Four years ago he had already announced a candidacy for the pro-China opposition party Kuomintang, but failed in the primary elections.
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Family and career are difficult to reconcile in Taiwan
The birth rate in the country has been falling for years. One of the reasons for this is that family and career are even more difficult to reconcile there than in Germany. The overtime culture is high, and childcare is hard to come by. Many working women also marry later and want to earn their own money, while some men have a more traditional family image and see themselves mainly in the breadwinner’s role. The ideas about family life are therefore becoming more and more divergent.
For Hong Kong, for example, the United Nations predicts that by 2023 there will be just 0.77 children per woman, while in Taiwan it will be 1.15. For comparison: in Germany the birth rate is 1.46.
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
