With the country facing one of the lowest birth rates in the world, Taiwan's government is seeking solutions to encourage people to have children. But childcare policy advocates say they're looking in the wrong direction.
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00:00Taiwan is facing a double-edged population crisis,
00:03plummeting birth rates and a rapidly aging society.
00:07The country is on track to become a super-aged society next year,
00:10boosting concerns that policies to increase the birth rate
00:13also need some major reforms.
00:15One child care advocacy alliance says they have a solution.
00:19Child care is not effective today.
00:22Public care is more important.
00:27Long-term care is not enough today.
00:30Flexibility is more important.
00:34This group advocates for solutions to keep mothers in the workforce
00:38so that women do not have to choose between their career and having children,
00:42and do not disproportionately take on the burden of caregiving responsibilities.
00:47Stable work is a prerequisite for fertility,
00:50but the Taiwanese government is acting against it.
00:54They're calling for expanded public child care services up to the age of 12,
00:58more flexible paid parental leave with job protection
01:01that encourages fathers to play an equal role in child care,
01:04and keep women in the workforce to make child care easier in dual-income families.
01:09They brought their suggestions to legislators
01:11who recently discussed possible reforms to the parental leave system.
01:15Currently, employees with children are given seven days
01:18of unpaid family care leave per year.
01:20But advocates say few parents use it,
01:22fearing a drop in salary or eventually getting laid off.
01:25But making changes into policy may take time.
01:28Whether or not to increase parental leave for children
01:32has a wide impact.
01:34We still need to collect opinions from all walks of life.
01:38But time is ticking for Taiwan
01:40as the population continues to set new records
01:43in ways that may jeopardize the country's future.
01:46Kris Ma and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.