Taiwan may pay couples to have babies
Taiwan said yesterday the government may start paying people to have children in order to boost the island's dwindling birth rate, one of the lowest in the world.
Among the proposals being considered is a monthly subsidy of 5,000 Taiwan dollars (160 US dollars) for all children under the age of three, the interior ministry said, a move which would cost 36 billion Taiwan dollars a year.
"The ministry hopes to raise the public's willingness to have children with measures that help them look after their children and improve their living standards," it said in a statement.
Taiwan's authorities have been offering various incentives to encourage births, amid growing concerns of severe manpower shortage.
The ministry last month kicked off an on-line contest for a slogan that would "make everybody want to have children" with a cash prize of one million Taiwan dollars for the winner.
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