TAIPEI (TVBS News) — At a childcare exposition held from Oct. 9-12, children's laughter echoed through exhibition halls in what has become an increasingly rare sound across Taiwan. The demographic reality underlying this observation is stark: only 8,603 newborns were registered in September 2025, representing a precipitous 27% decline from the previous year and underscoring Taiwan's deepening fertility crisis. In response, the government will launch a new subsidy program Jan. 1, 2026, offering NT$100,000 (around US$3,266) per child, alongside existing housing incentives and parental leave adjustments.
Yet beneath the surface of these policy announcements lies a profound skepticism about whether monetary incentives can reverse Taiwan's demographic decline. A comprehensive survey by yes123 Job Bank revealed that 88% of young Taiwanese do not view financial incentives as decisive factors in childbearing decisions. Tan Yu-rung (覃玉蓉), secretary-general of the Awakening Foundation (婦女新知基金會), a prominent women's rights organization, articulated widespread cynicism, noting that cash handouts are often perceived as electoral tactics rather than substantive solutions, while referencing an Academia Sinica study suggesting only a NT$10 million (around US$326,600) subsidy might meaningfully encourage childbirth.
The economic mathematics of parenthood in Taiwan paint a daunting picture that helps explain the reluctance of young couples to start families. Yang Shu-wei (楊書瑋), secretary-general of the Taiwan Labor Front (台灣勞工陣線), a labor advocacy organization, outlines stark financial realities: monthly childcare costs range from NT$52,000 to NT$53,000 (around US$1,698 to US$1,731). The broader economic burden becomes overwhelming when considering that families require monthly incomes of NT$113,000 (around US$3,691) to adequately raise a child, with lifetime costs reaching NT$6.68 million (around US$218,200), according to another yes123 Job survey.
International precedents offer both hope and cautionary lessons for Taiwan's policymakers grappling with demographic challenges. Wang Chao-ching (王兆慶), convener of the Childcare Policy Alliance (托育及就業政策催生聯盟), a child welfare advocacy group, cites Hungary and Russia as examples where substantial subsidies temporarily increased birth rates, demonstrating that financial incentives can yield measurable results. However, he emphasizes that such large subsidies represent only short-term solutions, primarily accelerating the timing of births among families already inclined to have children rather than fundamentally changing reproductive intentions.