Taiwan's Shrinking Population - In Case You Missed It
In this episode of In Case You Missed It, we look back at some of our recent stories about Taiwan's shrinking population and the effects its having on different parts of society.
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00:00Hello and welcome. I'm Eric Gao with news about Taiwan's shrinking population in case
00:20you missed it.
00:21In August, Taiwan's population shrank for the eighth month in a row. Interior Ministry
00:26data shows the 11,000 babies born that month were not enough to replace the 16,000 people
00:32who died.
00:33Taiwan's population has declined nearly 18,000 people since December of 2023 and now stands
00:39at just over 23.4 million people. It continues the slow but steady trend over the year.
00:46Adding to Taiwan's population woes are predictions that the country will become a super-aged
00:50society by 2025. That means more than 20 percent of the population will be over 65 years old.
00:57Now, this decline in the birth rate is having an impact on multiple facets of Taiwan society.
01:02One report predicts that the number of incoming students in Taiwan will decline sharply over
01:06the coming decades. And while the Education Ministry promises support for schools and
01:10teachers, the task ahead may be difficult as the nation's birth rate continues to drop.
01:15Don Venturi has reports.
01:18Years of declining birth rates are about to hit schools hard. A new report from the Education
01:23Ministry shows a steep fall in enrollment in the years ahead. By 2039, the number of
01:28middle and high school students in Taiwan will both have shrunk by over 100,000. And
01:33a drop in the number of elementary school students will be even more dramatic. A student
01:37body of over a million last year will drop to just below 780,000 by the end of the next
01:42decade.
01:53Taiwan has one of the world's lowest fertility rates. And despite occasional surges during
01:57years considered lucky under the Chinese zodiac, like the year of the dragon, the number of
02:02births is set to keep dwindling. Some educators and NGOs concerned with education are trying
02:07to see the positive side of having fewer students.
02:23But some schools are already finding it hard to survive and keep teachers employed. And
02:38that problem shows signs of getting worse in the coming years.
02:42Luffy Lee and John Ventri asked for Taiwan Plus.
02:46The effects of this shrinking population are already being felt. One private university
02:51in southern Taiwan has become the first school in the country to be turned into a municipal
02:55park. As Wesley Lewis reports, it's just one of a growing number of schools across the
02:59country facing enrollment problems.
03:05This former university in southern Taiwan has been transformed into a city park. After
03:10Tainan Shofu University shut its doors in 2023, it turned over its campus to the city
03:15government, which then repurposed the land for public use. It's the first project of
03:19its kind in the country, and it's drawn mixed reactions from nearby residents.
03:40The city government says this project will help save public funds. The new repurposed
03:45buildings will house the police department and the Ministry of Culture, eliminating costly
03:49new construction projects.
04:09Tainan Shofu University's closure is not unique. The Culinary Institute of Taiwan in
04:14Hualien shut down two years ago. It has since donated its buildings and campus to the National
04:19Open University and a local elementary school damaged by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that
04:24hit the region in April. Dongfeng Design University in Kaohsiung also sold its campus to the National
04:30Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology. As Taiwan's birth rate declines, schools
04:35across the country will face a growing enrollment problem, forcing more schools to follow suit
04:39and close down. But they can find a different purpose in serving the public.
04:44James Lin and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.
04:48The plummeting birth rate is also having a serious knock-on effect on the country's
04:51conscription numbers. To help ease the problem, the government is making it harder to get
04:56out of mandatory military service. But for low-income families, that could be a big problem.
05:01John Banchiest has this story as well.
05:05It's been seven months since Taiwan lengthened conscription for young men from just four
05:09months to a full year. Officials say this is necessary as China ramps up its threat
05:14to invade. But filling the ranks is getting harder as Taiwan's birth rate drops. For the
05:19first time, Taiwan has conscripted less than 100,000 recruits. Projections show that this
05:24number will go down to just 75,000 at the start of the next decade.
05:29To fill the ranks, the government has had to relax rules on height and BMI. And it's
05:33also making it harder for those deemed fit to get exemptions from serving the full year.
05:38But some people worry this could deal a serious financial blow to families that rely on their
05:43young men for income.
05:45It is still possible to get classified as a supplemental soldier, conscripts who do
05:4912 days training before returning to civilian life. But there are plans to scrap exemptions
05:54for young men that need to earn for their families. The only exception will be men who
05:58are the only support for a severely ill family member.
06:02Regular conscripts are paid, but not very much.
06:13But the Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare says that until basic
06:18training is over, pay is less than half minimum wage. That can mean two months of minimal
06:23income.
06:32Youth welfare activists want the government to look into subsidies or other measures to
06:37support these young people, so they can support the families who depend on them.
06:41Chris Ma and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.
06:45One of the reasons for Taiwan's low birth rate is its relatively poor maternal health
06:49care. The country's maternal mortality rate hit a two-decade high in 2019, and it continues
06:55to surpass that of its regional neighbors. With more people having children later in
06:59life, doctors and health officials are searching for ways to make childbirth safer.
07:03Wesley Lewis is back with this report.
07:07This family of three is the picture of happiness. But parents Hong Wan-Chien and Li Bing-Rong
07:12say their journey to parenthood almost cost Hong her life.
07:25Hong had four miscarriages before carrying her fifth pregnancy to full term. And while
07:30in labor, she suffered from complications. The placenta, which usually comes out with
07:35the fetus, started to embed in her muscle tissue, which prompted doctors to perform
07:39an emergency hysterectomy.
08:05Hong was able to receive the care she needed in a hospital outside of Taiwan. But for those
08:12who do not or cannot go abroad to give birth, that is not always the case. The maternal
08:17mortality rate in Taiwan hit a 23-year high in 2019, at 16 deaths per 100,000 births.
08:25In 2021, the figure dropped to around 14 deaths per 100,000 births. But it was still much
08:30higher than the 3.4 deaths in Japan and the 8.8 deaths in South Korea.
08:37Doctors in Taiwan say obesity, depression, and environmental stress all contribute to
08:42maternal mortality, and that more needs to be done to monitor and study the source of
08:46the problem.
08:47And as Taiwan's average age of childbearing approaches 32 years old, doctors here are
09:04encountering more high-risk pregnancies. They say these types of pregnancies should receive
09:08the attention they need at hospitals that have the proper resources.
09:31For now, the health ministry has been promoting a perinatal care network plan, aimed at helping
09:35high-risk patients transfer to hospitals that have the right equipment to care for
09:39them. The hope is to make comprehensive care accessible to anyone who needs it, and ultimately
09:44make it safer to give birth in Taiwan.
09:47Patrick Chen and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.
09:51And as Taiwan's birth rate drops, the senior population grows. And as people age, they
09:55develop more and more health problems. There are now over 350,000 people living with dementia
10:01in Taiwan. And as the country moves towards becoming a super-aged society, that number
10:05is only expected to increase.
10:08Wesley again looks at how the government is getting creative in caring for these people.
10:12As Taiwan moves towards becoming a super-aged society, its population of people with dementia
10:17is expected to increase. According to the country's health ministry, Taiwan is already
10:21home to around 350,000 people with dementia. They estimate that by 2031, that number will
10:27surpass 470,000 people. Then, by 2041, it will pass 680,000. That averages out to two
10:34new cases per hour, every day, between now and then. It's a problem that particularly
10:39affects women.
10:40The early symptoms of dementia, including emotional and behavioral disorders, are up
10:44to 66%. Her depression, her anxiety, her anxiety and fear are her top three.
10:53To tackle the issue, the health ministry has created thousands of care centers and trained
10:57over half a million volunteers to help look after the country's growing number of dementia
11:01patients. It also introduced community puppetry programs to help slow cognitive decline. 78-year-old
11:08Chou Hsing-Rong joined one such troupe six months ago. He has mild dementia, and puppetry
11:13seems to help with his symptoms. It's become something he looks forward to every day.
11:25While puppetry has helped Chou, he's just one success story in what is proving to be
11:29a growing challenge for Taiwan. As the country creeps towards becoming a super-aged society,
11:34one where over 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older, they'll have to continue
11:39to get creative about tackling dementia, either by providing better care, better awareness
11:44or better puppets. Patrick Chen and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.
11:49Now despite all these reports about the problems brought on by an aging population, there are
11:53some positive steps. There's a community hub in Taichung that's helping older people find
11:58happiness and a little extra cash with the help of some feathered friends. Sandy Chee
12:02has this report.
12:05A bit of love and care for these chickens. These feathered friends are a source of happiness
12:09for many elderly people here in the mountains around Taichung and central Taiwan.
12:28The chickens have brought comfort and joy to older people here, particularly 66-year-old
12:33Wu Xi De. Once a manual laborer, he fell ill in his forties, making it difficult to support
12:39his family. By the time he was 50, he was no longer able to work at all. But a local
12:45support group soon helped him find a new purpose in life. The planned community hub provides
12:51older people with opportunities to look after and raise chickens, and the chance to earn
12:56a little extra cash.
12:57You know what makes me happy? It's not just the money. It's the value as a person.
13:02Not only do I earn money, but I can also help my family and do what I want to do.
13:09Wu originally began raising chickens to support himself financially. Selling eggs and earning
13:15around 180 US dollars a month.
13:17I used to sing and say, chicken baby, chicken baby, hurry up and lay eggs. Grandpa has no
13:22money. Hurry up and lay eggs. I used to sing when I needed money.
13:27But raising his chickens soon turned into something much more meaningful.
13:42Wu is just one of over 100 elderly people who visit the community hub. While not everyone
13:48here has the opportunity to become a chicken farmer like Wu, they all come away with a
13:53few new feathery friends and a lot of joy.
14:00Thank you for watching in case you missed it. Before we go, watch as two specialist
14:04cleaners in Japan give the world's tallest bronze Buddha statue its annual spruce-up.
14:08I'm Eric Gao, take care and we'll see you next time.
14:23I'm Leslie Liao in Paris, France, and you're watching Taiwan Plus News, a voice of freedom
14:48in Asia.
14:53.