Taiwan’s conservative tradition hinders efforts to reduce birthrate – CNN.co.jp

Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) For Taiwan’s same-sex married couple Hong Shao-tei and Huang Heng-chen, having a biological child wasn’t easy.

The two married in 2019, just as Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. It wasn’t long before I started thinking about starting a family.

“All of our friends have already become parents, so we wanted to show our love as parents,” said Huang.

But in Taiwan, gay men cannot receive artificial reproductive treatment. The two, both in their mid-40s and university professors, had no choice but to look overseas.

The two were first admitted to a Russian reproductive clinic for more than a week, but it was discovered that due to regulatory changes they would not be able to receive treatment until the end. The two were then able to have a child through surrogacy in the United States. However, it cost an enormous amount of $160,000 (approximately 24 million yen).

These cases are also a source of headache for Chen Jinghui. In the recent general election, she became the first infertility doctor to be elected to the Legislative Yuan (equivalent to the National Assembly).

“Taiwan’s medical technology is by far the best in the world. Why should we pay such a high price to go abroad?” Chen said in an interview with CNN.

In Taiwan, same-sex couples and single mothers are excluded from treatments such as artificial insemination (IVF) and egg freezing. On the other hand, surrogacy is completely illegal.

Chen, along with other lawmakers, is pushing for deregulation. The declining population that stands in front of us is a threat not only to Taiwan’s economy, but also to its defense against an increasingly assertive China.

Developed countries in East Asia are faced with the problem of declining birthrates, but this is an especially pressing problem for democratically ruled Taiwan, which has a population of 24 million.

Taiwan’s birth rate is one of the lowest in the world, and the number of newborns is decreasing year by year. The total fertility rate (the number of children a woman gives birth to over her lifetime) in 2022 was only 0.87. It was far lower than Japan’s 1.26 and Singapore’s 1.05, and only slightly higher than South Korea’s 0.78.

The birth rate required to maintain a stable population without relying on immigration is 2.1.

Asian countries are trying to encourage childbirth by establishing incentive systems. In Hong Kong, each newborn can receive $2,550. In South Korea, a subsidy of $1,500 is provided for the first child and $2,260 for second and subsequent children. The Japanese government also announced last year that it would double the budget for childcare support.

to increase birth rate

Chen said that one of his top priorities as a lawmaker is to take the lead in lobbying for greater acceptance of assisted reproductive technology in order to address Taiwan’s declining birthrate, which he calls an “urgent issue.”

Mr. Chen, who is a member of the Kuomintang Party, which has long taken a conservative line, and is also a prominent doctor, said that the bill he will submit to Congress will give top priority to the application of IVF to single mothers, same-sex married couples between women, and unmarried heterosexual couples. He said that it would be. She believes that this approach will not cause as much of a stir in Taiwanese society as surrogacy does.

“It is important to continue dialogue among society as a whole regarding surrogacy,” Chen said, adding, “If possible, I would like to pass the bill during my (four-year) term.”

According to Chen, about 17% of the 135,571 babies born in Taiwan in 2023 were born through assisted reproductive technology. He added that if deregulation progresses, Taiwan’s birth rate will increase by 20 to 30 percent.

For Taiwan, the declining birthrate is a particularly pressing issue. This is because if the population decreases, the number of military personnel will also decrease.

According to a report by the Legislative Yuan, as of June 2023, there were 155,000 professional soldiers. This is a significant decrease from 165,000 two years ago and the lowest record since 2018.

This is bad news at a time when Taiwan is beefing up its defenses to curb Chinese military activity. The Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan part of its territory and has declared that it will “unify” Taiwan, using force if necessary. However, China has never ruled Taiwan.

Some experts say the declining birth rate poses a greater threat to Taiwan than to Asian economies such as Japan and South Korea. This is because Taiwan’s population base is smaller than that of other countries, and it is also unable to receive concrete security support from other countries in the event of an emergency.

The Taiwanese think tank “National Defense Security Research Institute” regards the declining birthrate as a “national security issue.”

Like the United States, Taiwan’s democratic politics has long had a two-party system, and consensus is rare. But when it comes to population decline, there is unusual agreement across party lines.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party also agrees that countermeasures are needed.

In January of this year, Xue Rui-yuan, director of Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (equivalent to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare), said that amending reproductive laws was a priority, and said he would hold public hearings within the next two months to discuss how to ease regulations. He said it was planned.

The decline in the working population is a threat not only to the military, but also to Taiwan’s long-term economy. Taiwan, currently the world’s 21st largest economy, is far ahead of other countries in supplying semiconductor chips, which are essential to everything from smartphones to computers.

However, Taiwan is also experiencing a serious labor shortage. Many sectors, including manufacturing, construction and agriculture, are increasingly relying on migrant workers from Southeast Asia to fill labor shortages.

Aiming for complete equality

Dr. Zhang Hunming, chief of gynecology at the China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan, also says that “the gradual relaxation of various regulations regarding reproduction makes sense.”

According to Zhang, who has been in the field of reproductive medicine for more than 30 years, “these treatments can be completely addressed with existing technology.”

Rep. Chen agreed with this, but also acknowledged that there is one area in which it appears that there is still no consensus on Taiwan. That is the legalization of surrogacy.

Amid growing debate in Taiwan about deregulation of assisted reproductive technology, opponents of deregulation held a press conference and called for a delay in amending the law, citing concerns about the well-being of children born into “imperfect families.” .

Some fear that “the womb will be treated as a commodity” through surrogacy. Chen believes that having a comprehensive legal framework to protect the rights of surrogate mothers during pregnancy would alleviate these claims.

The first stage of discussions is likely to exclude surrogacy. Same-sex couples like Hong and Huang, whose son Aidan is just nine months old, will continue to be barred from assisted reproductive technology in Taiwan (at least for the time being).

Since same-sex marriage was legalized in 2019, Taiwan has gradually fully recognized same-sex marriage and international marriage, as well as the right to adopt children. All that remains is assisted reproductive technology. This is the final hurdle towards full marriage equality.

“Whether they’re straight or gay, couples who are working hard to start a family still feel the same joy when they welcome a new member into their family. I think the love they have for their children is the same,” Huang says. .

“I hope that by expanding the discussion, new laws will be enacted so that everyone who wants to start a family can receive the same medical care.” (Mr. Huang)