T
aiwanese Happiness, well-being
 
     
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Taiwanese people suppose don't feel happy, according to various studies on series food scandals, housing & commodity prices, Taiwan's economy, human rights, women's rights, judiciary & prosecutor systems, etc, ―  unless you're black-heart politicians or business men......

The Conversation (2023-12-21):Taiwan's falling birth rate has become a national security issue / For three years now, deaths have exceeded births in Taiwan. Only immigration is preventing a real decline in population.
 (1) Young women in Taiwan   tend to explain   their preference for pets over babies in terms of financial pressures, particularly the cost of housing.
 marriage avoidance has become a marked phenomenon. (2) the problem is grounded in the Confucian cultural bedrock of the region. Family and society are rigidly patriarchal. Workplace organisation and wider societal structures are unfavourable to women. (3) Taiwanese live with an undercurrent of concern about the future of their country. If so,... a lack of security in geopolitical terms is informing decisions about whether or not to marry and have childrentheconversation.com/why-taiwans-falling-birth-rate-has-become-a-national-security-issue-219968

   United Daily (聯合報), 2023-7-25:  The US predicts Taiwan to have world's (227 countries) lowest birth rate in 2023.  ...udn.com/news/story/7338/7322470?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub7338_pulldownmenu_v2

   United Daily (聯合報),  2023-10-31:  Half of young people are poor so that they don't need to file taxes.  The gap between the rich and the poor hit 10 years high.  (半數年輕人窮到免繳稅,去年貧富差距創十年新高) udn.com/news/story/7338/7540439?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2       China Times (中國時報) , 2023-12-2: The declining birthrate has plunged into a vicious cycle

 

   FTV News (民視新聞), 2023-12-4: Taiwan's fertiity rate (birth rate 1.09) will rank world last in 2023。Housing price and  (commodity) prices rising a lot is the main cause.  tw.news.yahoo.com/2023台灣生育率全球最後1名-民眾-房價高不敢生-043103360.html

 

  Taiwan VS. world least affordable housing market

The Least Affordable Housing Market,   2023-9-29
visualcapitalist.com/mapping-housing-market-affordability/

RANK Metro. Market Median Multiple
(median house price / median household income)
1 Hong Kong, China    (most expensive) 18
  Taipei, Taiwan (2023 Q2 ) 15.5
2 Sydney, NSW, Australia 13.3
  New Taipei , Taiwan (2023 Q2) 12.9
3 Vancouver, BC, Canada  12.0
4 Honolulu 11.8
5 San Jose  11.5

 

   United Daily (聯合報), 2023-12-17: According to government's statistics, 80% of female aged 25~29 are bachelorette, 45 aged 30~34 are unmarried.  It is usually because the male (or they) can't afford buying a house.  Taiwan's divorce rate rose steadily, 34.75% couples divorced 5 years after being married.  The fertility of both male and female drop sharply.  According to study by Taipei medical university (台北醫學院)Taiwanese sperm reduce 1% for every 10 yearsThe fertility of Taiwanese female after age 33 fall sharply, but the average marriage-age of the female is 30.2.   Taiwan ranks world No.1 or 2 in terms of infertility - 1/7.  udn.com/news/story/7340/7646034?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2 楊志良


  China Times (中國時報) , 2023-12-2:
 According to government , Taiwanese need NT$ 24,574 monthly in average to keep body and soul togetherby contrast,  the average monthly labor pension is only bit more than NT$ 18,000This is a serious issue of Taiwan's labor system.


   United Daily (聯合報), 2023-7-10:  Taiwan's suicide rate ranks No.3 compared with OECD countries in 2022  (Taiwan is not a member of OECD) ; Taiwan's
Annual working hours (1910 hrs.) ranks world No.4   udn.com/news/story/121823/7289250?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub121823_pulldownmenu_v2

 

  Gallup's accompanying article, “Global Study Reveals Most Workers Enjoy What They Do”, Taiwan ranks No. 114 out of 122countries.  moderndiplomacy.eu/2022/11/10/122-countries-ranked-on-workplace-happiness/  2022-11-10

China Times ,  2023-12-3: The hidden debt is as high as NT$ 11 trillion, and is increasing at an average of more than NT$ 400 billions per year.  Because of Tsai Ing-wen government's inactive, it is estimated that the Labor Insurance Fund will go bankrupt in 2028, and the premiums paid by workers may never be recovered  chinatimes.com/opinion/20231202003281-262101?chdtv
 

  United Daily (聯合報),  2023-12-3:  The number of people diagnosed with depression in Taiwan has increased to 1.25 million, and one-fifth of the population cannot sleep at night unless taking sleeping pills. The number of Taiwanese suicide and self-harm aged 15 ~ 24 has increased from 1,000 in 2015 to 10,000 in recent years.  When people are depressed, domestic violence has reached to 120,000 cases, child abuse has reached more than 40 cases every day, elder abuse has exceeded 10,000 cases ... udn.com/news/story/7340/7614549?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2  楊志良 former the Minister of the Department of Health 

  

Yahoo, CTI, 2023-2-11:   law maker"joblessness and inflation are two major miseries".  tw.news.yahoo.com/台灣經濟真相-王鴻薇揭近2年-痛苦指數-蔡政府對人民視而不見-081733883.html#:~:text=王鴻薇指出:「失業和通貨,突破7%25大關。」

Taiwanesemisery index

Dec. 2022 Nov. 2022 Oct. 2022 Sept. 2022 Aug. 2022 July 2022
6.23 5.96 6.38 6.42 6.47 7.13

 

  China Daily , 2023-5-26: Taiwan people unhappy with DPP, polls show  Taiwan's residents are disillusioned with Tsai Ing-wen's performance and the DPP administration's reluctance to address important issues such as the income gap, affordable housing and unemployment. 73.9 percent of respondents are unhappy with the administration's approach toward narrowing the income gap.......The high cost of living, coupled with low wages and long working hours, has caused significant hardshipsAnother poll conducted by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, more than 50 percent of respondents do not want the DPP to remain in power. The DPP has not just wasted Taiwan people's hard-earned money but has also tried to push the region to the brink of war chinadaily.com.cn/a/202305/26/WS646fc82ea310b6054fad5234.html

 

  National Interest ,  2022-7-9:   Taiwan faces many internal problems. First, low wages and high housing costs are affecting the marriage rate and leading to decreases in fertility.    nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/why-china-cant-afford-attack-taiwan-203504

 

  China Times 》editorial , 2022-4-27: misery index,」1Q is up to 6.4%  chinatimes.com/opinion/20220426004891-262101?chdtv

★  <United Daily > editorial, 2022-4-15 (udn.com/news/story/7338/6240482?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub7338_pulldownmenu_v2):

misery index, Taiwan

yr. 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
misery index 4.38 5.06 4.29 3.62 5.94 6.92(Feb. )

 

  United Dailyeditorial, 2022-4-6:  Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen reneges on her main policy,  housing justice - failures on building social houses, and the housing price has been rapidly soaring...    udn.com/news/story/7338/6217258?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub7338_pulldownmenu_v2

 

United Daily, 2022-3-8: According to Academia Sinica, 56% husbands feel happy, 45% wives feel happy; Gov data: nearly half of young people, , particularly female, born between 1981 and 1990 are still single.    udn.com/news/story/7339/6147653?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub7339_pulldownmenu_v2

  VOAnews ,  2022-4-1: survey: More than 20% of Taiwanese under the age of 40 say they lack savings and 65% report they are in debt, only one-third of respondents said their income exceeds their expenses,... Some 41.8% of respondents said their debt was high enough that they felt economic pressure. Taiwan's rising housing costs have also made it difficult for young people...
Today, even small housing units in Taipei can command prices exceeding $1 million,...housing prices across six cities including Taipei rose more than 30% between 2019 and 2021.  Much of the inflated prices in housing is fueled by the long running problem of property speculation in Taiwan and very little social housing.    voanews.com/a/survey-shows-young-taiwanese-lack-savings-are-highly-indebted-/6510937.html

 

★  <United Daily > editorial, 2022-3-27: In a seminar in National Cheng Kung University, 41% students chose to embrace  ‘Lying Flat’( lie around like a couch potato)...Soaring housing prices have become the biggest pain for young people...the real wage is pretty low...

 udn.com/news/story/7338/6194409?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

 

★  <United Daily >, 2022-1-1Taiwanese children's death rate 4.5/1000 is much higher than those of Japan, Korea ord OECD countries (average number: 1.9/1000)udn.com/news/story/7338/6001966?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

 

  《China Times 中國時報》 , 2021-11-24 People seem to living in a pressure cooker, there is no way out of pain and depression, social violence is increasing day by day,  the increasing suicide rate reflects people's desperation or hopelessness in life.  Senior officials don't even try to solve these issues.    chinatimes.com/opinion/20211123004533-262101?chdtv

  《China Times Databse , 2021-11-24Recently, Taiwan's society is filled with disorder and violent killing, social security is bad...  (近來社會充滿失序與暴力殺戮,治安敗壞) chinatimes.com/opinion/20211123004792-262104?chdtv

 

★  <聯合報 The United Daily>, 2021-3-27:  430 thousands old senior citizens were pinned in old apartments without an elevator, therefore are hard to get downstairs and walk out,  the number includes not the elderly in townhouse or row house(透天厝)。A retired professor complained this and may do a "fake divorce" so as to apply for a "social housing" ("Council House") 。Many middle-class people have only a house but no cash in the pocket, how can they deal with illness and something unexpected?    brief  udn.com/news/story/7338/5347006?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

★  <聯合報 The United Daily>, 2021-3-29:  The government knew "aged persons were trapped in old house" but did nothing.  Social housing for the elderly people actually are only for top of the pyramid”, nothing for “middle of the pyramid”, general social housing is used to gain youngster's votes.  The sadness is old people's brain, body and pocket can not afford finding an appropriate place to live or kept moving from one place to another. Taiwanese landlord always rejects aged persons.  brief  udn.com/news/story/7339/5350247?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

★  CIA   The World Fact Book (cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/total-fertility-rate/country-comparison), Japan Times, 2021-4-21: CIA estimates Taiwan's "Fertility Rate" in 2021 to be world's lowest.  Taiwan ranks No. 227, probably caused by many house-wives being busy in work as well as in household duties, according to Liberty Times 2021-4-20.  Japan ranks 218,  China 185, Singapore 225.

  United Daily》, 2021-6-17:  udn.com/news/story/7340/5537697?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2  Medical expert 楊志良 project found out:  under the circumstances of low salary and high housing price, it will be less and less marriage and child born。

★  <Apple Daily>, 3-6-2021:  tw.appledaily.com/headline/20210306/HJMLA6LWAJGABED753Y4ZNFOHU/
In 2020, 12,2000 couples got married, nearly 52,000 couples divorced,the divorce rate of couples married 10+ years is up to 43.4%

 

★  The Apple Daily, editorial, Dec. 9, 2020
     
Rising housing price recently will make the rich are richer, but those youngsters struggling minimum wage even do not dare to have housing dream... today's Taiwan has been polarizing the differences between the rich and poor, the middle class is moving downward, not to mention the situation of service industry's furlough and being jobless is getting worse and worse.   tw.appledaily.com/headline/20201209/KPGCQUPML5FAXIRHL3ZDRXXPGY/

 

★  <The United Daily>, 6-29-2020:   Has President seen the sadness of old people living alone ?

https://udn.com/news/story/7339/4665441?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2
      30.7% Taiwanese elderly live alone,  or just live with spouse, or care-giver
   「 Social security network 」includes no the elderly living alone, 「long-term care system」 services are limited and the quality varies,
     Less than 20% elderly living alone were on govt. profile to be care.
      /  聯合報 / 羅品善

The China Times, editorial》 The hardship of Taiwanese youngsters   20:03  2020/07/12  言論 主筆室
       income differential (五等分法) : The highest level is about 6+ times the lowest level, which worsen the number, 4~5 , in earlier years

 

 

★  <中國時報 The China Times>, editorial opinion, 10-4-2019:  The productivity of those consumer goods (lifestyle) industries (such as general business, wholesales, retail, food, logistics/distribution, cosmetology & hair salon, early childhood care, hotel, etc industries with low salary and dark future ) most Taiwanese people work on is pretty low in general; in contrast, the new rich in Computer and  electronics industries lead a great life,this leads to an unstable society。

 

<The United Daily>, headline news, 12-7-2019
      Word of the year 2019 in Taiwan is "chaos", No.2 is "lie" (cheating) , No.3 is "worry".

★  <The United Daily>, <CTS> news, 2-20-2019

pic.: Taiwanese workers stuck at the same real salaries (wages) as 17 years ago for inflation of all prices/ UDN 2-20-2019
 PS: CTS news 2-20-2019: Nearly 90% Taiwanese workers complained about their low salaries.  

★  <The United Daily>, headline news, 6-10-2019

       The number of elderly citizens being abused is 300% larger than that 10 years ago, a horrible find-out !   The number is just a tip of a big iceberg !   Most of those aged people suffering domestic violence chose not to speak out ...

★  <聯合報 The United Daily>, 10-25-2019: Kaohsiung city mayor (韓國瑜): People of four classes (farmers, fishermen, plebs, labor-men) lead a good life, the whole Taiwan will be happy (四種人 農勞工庶民過好  全台快樂)

★  <自由時報 The Liberty Times>, summer 2019

        年輕人低薪 年平均成長NT400-600 (2018: aged 20-24 NT27783, 2017: 26904, 2012: 23737)

 

★  UDN group's Economic Daily (經濟日報) survey of 2019 shows at 11-20-2019 that <Happiness Index> of Taiwanese  ―   No.1 Taipei, No.2 Hsin-Chu, No.3 Tao-yuan, No.4 TaiNan.

 

《United Daily 》Taiwan,  8-26-2019,  headline news:   "can't afford buying a house, salary remains, no solutions yet  since 1989"

 

 

 

 

 

 

  pic.: UDN, headline news, 8-26-2019: still can't afford a house, salary remains the same as 30 yrs ago,

 

  <The New York Times>, 2-27-2018

★     Taiwanese are "in a near panic" over shortage of tissue paper, which highlights high price sensitivity, Taiwanese wages stagnated for years, but housing prices went up. (brief)

★  <The United Daily>, 2-8/9-2018, <Apple Daily>, 2-9-2018

         Taiwan government (including local gov.) has not well taken its fundamental responsibility of protecting the safety of people's life and property -

       ● why are there so many tall buildings located on the fault-zone?

       ● why are poor architectures everywhere on bad geologic grounds ?

       ● why are those shit-hole politicians doing nothing and ignoring urban renewal so as to risk millions of old houses and human beings ?? 

《The Economist Intelligence Unit》UK
     
Taipei ranks No. 58 in the 2018 survey "The world's most livable cities".  
       "The 2017 global least and most stressful cities rankings" shows Taiwan's "gender equality" No.113, "race equality" No. 78, "green space" No. 115, "social security" No.140,  "physical health" No.15, "mental health" No. 96, "air pollution" No. 92, "noise pollution" No.110,  "Density", No. 127, "public transport" No.2,  "Debt per Capita" No. 43, etc.  ref to
https://www.zipjet.co.uk/2017-stressful-cities-ranking,《聯合報》, 10-3-2018