2/18/2015
TAIPEI – The unduly large number of unmarried people in Taiwan poses a national threat, argues the charismatic mayor of Taipei, Ko wen-je, a doctor who recently joined politics as an independent backed by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Known for being vocal about his opinions, Ko quoted official figures stating that 59 percent of men and 50 percent of women between the ages of 30 and 40 were single, the daily Taipei Times reported Tuesday.
People either marry late or do not marry at all, said Ko, who stressed that this posed a serious problem for the country in that once these singles grow old, the state will have to take care of them, as they have no one else to depend on.
During his stint as chairman of Taiwan’s National University Hospital, Ko realized many patients had no family members to sign the consent form necessary for medical procedures.
He said that the current social security system is not in a position to take charge of the growing number of singles and appealed the government to undertake appropriate measures to prevent it from becoming a national security problem.
The Taiwanese government offers incentives such as free community weddings and financial aid to encourage people to get married and have children, while the country has the low fertility rate of 0.90 children for every woman.
The doctor-turned-politician considers existing measures to be inadequate and affirms that cutting the cost of education would prove to be far more effective in encouraging people to have children.
In a country where the Kuomintang party and the opposition DPP control most of the political positions, Ko is seen as an emerging star in Taiwanese politics.
source
TAIPEI – The unduly large number of unmarried people in Taiwan poses a national threat, argues the charismatic mayor of Taipei, Ko wen-je, a doctor who recently joined politics as an independent backed by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).Known for being vocal about his opinions, Ko quoted official figures stating that 59 percent of men and 50 percent of women between the ages of 30 and 40 were single, the daily Taipei Times reported Tuesday.
People either marry late or do not marry at all, said Ko, who stressed that this posed a serious problem for the country in that once these singles grow old, the state will have to take care of them, as they have no one else to depend on.
During his stint as chairman of Taiwan’s National University Hospital, Ko realized many patients had no family members to sign the consent form necessary for medical procedures.
He said that the current social security system is not in a position to take charge of the growing number of singles and appealed the government to undertake appropriate measures to prevent it from becoming a national security problem.
The Taiwanese government offers incentives such as free community weddings and financial aid to encourage people to get married and have children, while the country has the low fertility rate of 0.90 children for every woman.
The doctor-turned-politician considers existing measures to be inadequate and affirms that cutting the cost of education would prove to be far more effective in encouraging people to have children.
In a country where the Kuomintang party and the opposition DPP control most of the political positions, Ko is seen as an emerging star in Taiwanese politics.
source
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