TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Cabinet held a press conference Tuesday, one day before the second anniversary of President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) inauguration, to announce new programs supporting parents and children from birth to age 18.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said comprehensive measures such as expanded parental leave, tax incentives, and child care subsidies will ease the financial burden on families and encourage higher birth rates. He said flexible parental leave for child care will be extended up to age 6, along with enhanced maternity and paternity leave provisions, per CNA.
Other measures include tax breaks for child care expenses and a more structured plan for marriage, maternity, and paternity leave. He said the goal is to increase flexibility, strengthen child care support, and encourage both parents to participate in child-rearing.
He added that the policy aims to ensure economic growth is shared across generations while supporting younger families and improving long-term demographic sustainability.
Separately, the opposition KMT legislative caucus on Monday proposed additional measures to address Taiwan’s low birth rate, including free health insurance for children up to age 6, child care subsidies of NT$20,000 (US$633) every six months until age 6, and NT$5,000 per month until age 15.
The KMT proposal would cost an estimated NT$241.6 billion annually. The KMT and TPP have also previously proposed a Taiwan Future Account, under which the government would deposit NT$50,000 at account opening and NT$10,000 annually thereafter, with a projected total cost of NT$450 billion, per CNA.
Cho said many details of the Cabinet’s plan have been finalized but have not yet been formally discussed in a Cabinet meeting. He said the earliest announcement would come after next week’s meeting.
Labor Minister Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said Tuesday that additional salary costs under the program will be fully covered by the government. Hung said the ministry is reviewing regulations related to the birth-to-18 child care support system and taking into account challenges faced by child care workers, including time constraints and workload pressures, per CNA.
He said the government aims to reduce burdens on employers by providing funding support, subsidies for substitute workers, and hiring incentives, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. Hung said many companies already offer employee child care support programs, and the government intends to encourage such practices.
On maternity leave policy, Hung said the Cabinet hopes to make the system more supportive and empathetic toward new mothers, noting that adequate maternity leave is important for physical and mental recovery and can help reduce postpartum depression.
He added that businesses increasingly recognize the importance of family-friendly workplaces for retaining talent amid labor shortages and said rigid workplace structures can negatively affect workforce stability.
