Social Welfare

The Children's Welfare Law, promulgated in 1973, continues to provide ample protection for Taiwanese children, who comprise some 17.52 percent of Taiwan's total population.

Amajority of the Taiwanese people now enjoys a greater quality of life than ever before following Taiwan’s successful transformation over the past five decades from a traditional agricultural economy into a modern industrialized one. Consistent with such a transformation, the traditional extended rural families of yesteryear have been replaced with nuclear urban families, resulting in a growing number of children, women, handicapped, and senior citizens who require assistance from non-familial sources. Coinciding with this need for outside assistance are two new phenomena: increased demand for government services and the proliferation of private organizations providing welfare services.

In fiscal year 2003, the ROC government allocated nearly US$7.61 billion, or 17.54 percent of total expenditures, on what it broadly defined as “social welfare”─a heading that was further divided into social insurance expenses (9.67 percent), social relief expenses (0.40 percent), welfare services (6.35 percent), national employment expenses (0.15 percent), and medical care expenses (0.97 percent). Despite the large budget it has allocated for social welfare, the government sees itself as a facilitator and coordinator of welfare services.

This chapter highlights the social welfare services provided by both the government and private sector for disadvantaged children, juveniles, women, the elderly, the disabled, indigenous peoples, labor, and the poor.

Children

In 2002, about 17.52 percent of Taiwan’s population consisted of children under 12 years of age, as defined by the Children’s Welfare Law 兒童福利法promulgated in 1973 and revised in 1993. Under this law, health care professionals, daycare workers, teachers, and the police are required to report all cases of child abuse, and parents are prohibited from leaving children under the age of six or who require special attention unattended. Parents who violate this law must attend a minimum of four hours of parental responsibility training classes, and face fines of US$38 to US$192 for each refusal to attend such classes.

According to the Department of Social Affairs under the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) 內政部社會司, reported cases of child abuse have increased steadily from 1,235 in 1993 to 3,889 in 2002. ROC law requires all reports of child abuse to be thoroughly investigated, and if a serious child abuse case is confirmed or if the parents are unable to guarantee a child’s safety, then the child will be removed and placed in a safe environment. To help expedite the handling of such cases, the government has set up a 24-hour "113" women’s and children’s protection hotline and a website at http://www.cbi.gov.tw. Both provide counseling on child protection; information on foster homes and child adoption programs; advice on parent-child and husband-wife relationships; and missing children services.

The Children’s Welfare Law and its enforcement rules, the Nursery Establishment Measures 托兒所設置辦法 and the Foster Care Measures 兒童寄養辦法, mandate the establishment of child welfare centers in all cities and counties. As of December 2002, there were 25 child welfare centers and 42 homes for abandoned children and orphans in the Taiwan area caring for 2,317 children. In addition, there were 296 public nurseries, 3,505 private nurseries, and 96 community nurseries serving 327,125 children. All full-day childcare centers must meet the legal standards.

Juveniles

As of December 2002, Taiwan’s population aged 12 to 17 totaled 1.93 million. Although juvenile delinquency is still a major problem in Taiwan, both the rate of juvenile offenses and the number of juvenile delinquents have decreased annually over the past decade. Statistics from the National Police Administration (NPA) 警政署 under the MOI indicate that 8.43 percent of all crime suspects in 2002 were juveniles between the ages of 12 and 17, down from 17.8 percent in 1992. Burglaries (49.61 percent), copyright infringements (15.39 percent), drug violations (6.85 percent), and violent crimes (4.86 percent) were the most frequent juvenile offenses. According to NPA reports, of the 30,643 people charged by the police for drug violations in 2002, 28.05 percent were between the ages of 12 and 23.

Counseling and psychiatric services are readily available at community health centers and the psychiatric health clinics of major hospitals for young people in need of help. In addition, under the Youth Welfare Law 少年福利法, local governments have worked with private organizations to set up 22 counseling and education centers, 29 youth welfare service centers, 14 advice centers, 21 emergency short-term shelters, and four halfway schools in Taiwan.

The Law Governing the Disposition of Juvenile Cases 少年事件處理法, which was first promulgated in 1962 and amended twice in 1980 and 1997, respectively, strengthens the protective and counseling functions of juvenile courts, and the establishment of shelters for juveniles. Under this law, many shelters have been set up islandwide for youths to turn to for relevant help. The Department of Social Welfare under the Taipei City Government, for example, contracted three private agencies in 2002 to set up four shelters for delinquents who committed only minor offenses.

Women

The role of Taiwanese women in society has been redefined over the past decade as more and more women receive higher education, join the workforce, compete with men, and establish financial independence. In 2002, there were 11.03 million women in the Taiwan area, compared to a male population of 11.48 million. On average, first-time brides in 2002 were 26.8 years old, up from 25.8 in 1990. Almost half of the women in Taiwan are regular wage earners and help support their families.

As of the end of 2002, 71,595 women had earned master’s degrees, up from 21,656 in 1997, and 595,903 college and university graduates were female, up from 314,331 in 1997. Women today have better educational opportunities than in the past, and the number of female graduates of higher education has increased by 50 percent in the past 20 years.

In the past 15 years, numerous women’s organizations have been set up to assist women in confronting various societal issues. In addition, the government has created numerous committees to help protect women’s welfare, such as the Women’s Rights Promotion Committee under the Executive Yuan, the Sexual Violation Prevention Committee and Domestic Violence Prevention Committee under the MOI, and the Women’s Welfare Section under the MOI’s Department of Social Affairs. City governments in Taiwan have allocated budget for women’s services, and many local governments─under the supervision of the MOI─have organized regional coalitions to help generate public awareness on gender issues while providing medical, legal, psychological, educational, financial, and vocational assistance to women. In 1998, the Foundation of Women Rights Promotion and Development was set up to promote equality and mutual respect between both sexes while upholding women’s rights.

Many women’s groups have lobbied lawmakers to change Book IV of the Civil Code, which concerns family matters, and this has resulted in several landmark revisions in the past decade. For example, Article 1050, which automatically gave the father custody of a couple’s children in the event of a divorce by mutual consent, was struck. Article 1089 was amended, giving both parents equal priority in parental rights and obligations with respect to minor children, as well as giving the court─ rather than the father─the final say in resolving disputes. Article 1017 was revised to give both the husband and wife full rights to any property registered under their respective names, both before and after being married. Article 1018 was also amended, with a paragraph stricken that gave the husband the right to manage property jointly owned by a married couple, and a paragraph added that granted the wife full rights to manage, use, profit from, and handle all property under her name.

The Elderly

The average life expectancy for Taiwanese men and women in 2002 was 73.03 and 78.82 years, respectively. With 9.01 percent of the Taiwan populace was over 65 years old as of December 2002. The government encourages elderly people to live with or near their children, and in-home care is available for those senior citizens who either live by themselves or have difficulty performing everyday activities. The government also launched a pension system for the elderly in 2002, granting all elderly residents in Taiwan aged 65 years or older who meet certain requirements a monthly pension of US$86.

Daycare services for the elderly have become increasingly important as more women enter the job market. The Taipei City Government set up Taiwan’s first daycare center for people over the age of 65 in the Neihu District in 1988. As of the end of 2002, seven more had been set up in Taipei, one in Kaohsiung City, and two more are currently under construction. In addition to conducting regular physical checkups, these daycare centers provide breakfast, lunch, and recreational programs during working hours on weekdays and on Saturdays.

Nearly 4,000 senior-citizen recreation centers and organizations in Taiwan─ including the Evergreen Academy, Community Longevity, and Pine Clubs─provide senior citizens with activities and services such as folk dancing, Chinese “shadowboxing,” folk music, opera, chess, and handicrafts. In Taipei City, 240,000 elderly people attended educational and recreational classes between July 2001 and June 2002.

For those elderly who are unable to leave their homes, the MOI subsidizes local governments and township administrative offices to set up in-home care support centers to hold nursing skill training programs for family members of the elderly and professional caretakers.

The Disabled

As of December 2002, a total of 831,226 people held Handicapped Certificates in the Taiwan area, up 10.23 percent from the previous year’s figure. In 2002, the government allocated US$46.98 million for welfare services for the disabled.

In accordance with the Protection Law for the Handicapped and Disabled 身心殘障者保護法, a Protection Committee for the Handicapped and Disabled was set up under the MOI to promote measures for protecting the rights and interests of the disabled. This protection law also defined minimum quotas on the hiring of handicapped or disabled employees, requiring all private enterprises with more than 100 employees to hire at least one disabled person, and all government offices, public schools, and public enterprises with 50 or more employees to have at least 2 percent of their workforce consisting of disabled employees.

Several consulting service centers around Taiwan handle telephone consultations, correspondence management, one-on-one sessions, and interviews for disabled people who wish to take classes, receive special medical care, or seek employment. These centers also conduct seminars, recreational activities, and social gatherings for the disabled.

Disabled people are integrated into regular educational institutions as much as possible, with many regular schools offering special classes for the disabled. In the 2002-2003 school year, the Taiwan area had 23 government-established special education schools with 1,595 teachers exclusively teaching 5,654 disabled students.

Indigenous Peoples

The welfare of Taiwan’s various indigenous peoples, who numbered 439,300 in August 2003, is one of the top priorities of the ROC government’s social welfare system. Several government organizations specifically designed to serve Taiwan’s indigenous population have been established in recent years, including the Indigenous Peoples Commission under the Taipei City Government in 1996; the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) 原住民委員會 under the Executive Yuan, also in 1996; and the Commission of Indigenous Affairs under the Kaohsiung City Government in 1997.

The government offers low-interest housing loans of up to US$89,550, repayable over a 30-year period, to Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. In addition, the Comprehensive Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples set up under the CIP had a balance of nearly US$92 million at the end of 2002, and indigenous households can apply for a loan through this fund of up to US$100,000 for the purchase or construction of a new house, or up to US$28,571 for starting their own businesses. Elderly indigenous peoples over the age of 55 are entitled to a monthly pension of US$86.

Indigenous peoples are accorded special status when taking entrance exams, with an extra 25 percent added to their exam scores from senior high school through university entrance examinations Furthermore, a one-percent quota of the total number of students enrolled is reserved for indigenous students. Every year, the government awards seven full scholarships to indigenous students studying abroad, and as of the end of 2002, 35 such students had benefited. For those who pay their own tuition to study abroad, the government gives a monthly stipend of US$300, valid for up to four years. Indigenous peoples taking part in government-sponsored vocational training programs not only have their tuition waived, but also receive a monthly stipend of US$384 from the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) 勞工委員會 and are eligible for an additional US$96 per month from the CIP if they receive training for three months or more.

A special civil service examination is held biennially for indigenous peoples. As of the end of 2002, 21 such exams had been held with 2,122 indigenous peoples passing. In addition, the CIP rewards all indigenous peoples who pass any vocational skills test offered by the government with a payment of up to US$1,714.

Labor

Taiwan has a diversified and skilled workforce of 9.96 million people: 6.77 million are employees, and the rest are either self-employed or possess some other working status. To maintain a productive and qualified work force, the government has focused its legislative priorities on workers’ rights and welfare, gender equality, labor-management relations, and health and safety.

Consequently, it has passed several significant laws, including the Labor Standards Law 勞動基準法, Employment Services Act 就業服務法, Labor Safety and Health Law 勞動安全衛生法, and the Rules for the Allocation and Management of Workers’ Retirement Fund 勞工退休準備金提撥及管理辦法. The current minimum monthly wage in Taiwan is NT$15,840 (US$465).

The Labor Standards Law delineates the rights and obligations of workers and employers; prescribes the minimum requirements for labor contracts; and has provisions on wages, work hours, leave, and the employment of women and children. The law also prohibits unreasonable work hours and forced labor, grants workers the right to compensation for occupational injuries or layoffs, and provides for a pension upon retirement.

The Employment Services Act guarantees equal job opportunities and access to employment services for everyone; regulates public and private employment service agencies; and encourages employment guidance for the handicapped, indigenous peoples, low-income families, female heads of households, the elderly, and the unemployed. It also stipulates that the central government should work with management, labor unions, and workers to negotiate work hour reductions, wage adjustments, or inservice training.

The Labor Safety and Health Law, which was promulgated in 1991 to ensure a safe and healthy work environment for workers, prohibits women and youths under the age of 16 from working in dangerous or hazardous environments. The law also requires businesses with more than 300 employees at the same site to set up a medical center onsite, and obliges businesses engaged in potentially hazardous operations to do so when the number of employees at the same site reaches 100. The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health under CLA is to monitor Taiwan’s work environment and conditions.

Regarding pensions, the 1984 Labor Standards Law and the Rules for the Allocation and Management of Workers’ Retirement Fund state that a retiree is entitled to a maximum pension equal to 45 times his average wage in the six months prior to retirement. Financing for this pension comes from a retirement fund set up by employers, who must allocate between 2 to 15 percent of their employees’ total monthly salary into the fund on a monthly basis. To ensure that workers receive these wages should their employer file for liquidation, the government has set up a Wage Arrears Repayment Fund in which all employers are required to pay 0.025 percent of the insurance wages for each employee.

Low-income Households

The ROC government provides special subsidies, assistance, and both cash and non-cash benefits to low-income individuals and families, such as job placement, educational aid for children, stipends during traditional festivals, and child and maternal nutrition programs. Most of these programs base eligibility on individual, household, or family income, though a few offer help purely on the basis of presumed need. To determine eligibility, the government revised the “monthly minimum expenses” each fiscal year based on the consumer price index and variations in regional income distribution. This figure differs from area to area. In 2002, only 153,337 people (64,535 households), or 0.68 percent of the population, were considered members of low-income families.

Starting in July 1993, a monthly subsidy has been provided to all people over the age of 65 and to low-income families. Elderly people whose income is less than or equal to 1.5 times the average monthly minimum expenses are qualified to receive US$171 per month, while those with an income between 1.5 and 2.5 times the monthly minimum expenses are eligible for US$86 per month.

Low-income families with children can qualify for an additional monthly subsidy, depending on locality, especially if their families’ average monthly income does not exceed the monthly minimum expenses for their area. In Taiwan Province and Kaohsiung City, this subsidy is US$52 per child, though for Taiwan Province this subsidy is limited to a maximum of two children. In Taipei City, households are eligible for a monthly subsidy of US$166, US$150, or US$29 for every child under the age of 18, depending on the family’s average monthly income level.

Volunteer Services

Volunteers play an extremely important role in Taiwan’s social service system. In January 2001, the ROC government promulgated the Volunteer Service Law 志願服務法to better integrate available manpower from all levels of society.

In July 1997, the National Youth Commission (NYC) 青年輔導委員會under the Executive Yuan initiated a program to recruit volunteers between the ages of 15 and 45. At the same time, the NYC encouraged volunteer organizations in schools, communities, enterprises, and social service sector. Individual volunteers were organized into service groups once they had at least 30 people, and groups within the same district were combined into volunteer centers.

Taiwan actively worked with the international community to promote Global Youth Service Day in 2002, with 446 youth volunteer groups comprised of more than 12,000 young volunteers participating in relevant activities that day to show their concern for the disadvantaged groups and the environment. Taiwan also exchanges visits of volunteer groups with other countries around the world.

Taiwan’s complete network of volunteer services is a joint effort by the government and private sector. One of the largest charity organizations in Taiwan today is the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, which was established in 1966 by Master Cheng Yen. Tzu Chi is involved in charity work, medicine, education, culture, international relief, bone marrow donations, environmental protection, and community services. With four million supporters around the world, Tzu Chi has offices in 28 countries, including six chapters and 78 offices in the United States alone.