S5-E1 – Taiwan’s Shrinking Population
Did you know that former Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 is the youngest of eleven siblings? Her personal story is a dramatic example of how quickly we’ve fallen from high fertility in the 1950s, when the rate was over six children per woman, to the current birthrate of about one. That’s half of what’s needed to maintain a population. Eryk and John discuss Taiwan’s dramatic demographic changes and explore possible solutions. This is an important subject, an existential threat for Taiwan, which is why we chose it to kick off Season Five of Formosa Files.
Cover left image via Reddit, right image via Big News Network
In this episode, we talk about info on former president Tsai that comes via a book by Niki J. P. Alsford.
The book is: "Taiwan Lives - A Social and Political History" The description of the book reads: "In Taiwan Lives, Niki J. P. Alsford presents a comprehensive examination of the island nation’s rich and complex past, told through the life stories of those who have lived it. A merchant, an exile, an activist, a pop star, a doctor, and a president are just some of the twenty-four individuals whose lives populate this people's history of Taiwan. Ranging across time, social strata, ethnicity, and political alliance, these tales offer snapshots of historical eras and illustrate the interwoven fabric of colonialism. Chapters can be read in sequence or individually. With clear and accessible prose, Taiwan Lives is ideal for undergraduate course use."
READ: More Pets than Children?
READ: Interpreting Taiwan's Declining Birth Rate
Below: Taiwan's unfortunate top place. Via The Visual Capitalist.
Below:
1. Former president Tsai Ing-wen's official portrait.
2. A "family tree" of the Tsai family. The former president is the youngest of 11 siblings. Her father, Tsai Chieh-sheng (1918–2006), had four wives (not legal but once quite common). Thanks to Katy Hui-Wen Hung for sharing this image.
Read: Taiwan in Time: When Taiwan suffered from overpopulation, by Han Cheung
Both images below are from the Taiwan in Time article, and while undated, likely come from the late 1960s or early 1970s.
Below: A picture from the UDN Facebook page shows a govt poster from 1998 with a slogan that roughly translates as "Not having kids isn't good. One kid is too few, but two is just right."
Below: A screengrab from a TVBS news report shows one of the many failed attempts by the Central Govt, as well as cities and counties in Taiwan, to boost birthrates by offering subsidies for childcare.
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