TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Legislative Yuan met with the Labor Department to discuss how to subsidize abandoned children of foreign workers born in Taiwan and the processes of raising them.
Labor Minister Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) denied rumors that the Labor Ministry provides NT$2 billion in subsidies to abandoned non-Taiwanese children. She clarified that the Department is committed to subsidizing humanitarian causes which include providing non-Taiwanese workers with employment assistance and naturalization aid.
This year 45 of these children were registered for the assistance of the Labor Department. The Department provides a NT$17,500 per month subsidy for each. The new subsidies will take effect June 1 of this year.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the subsidies these children receive will go towards resettling them in society, including being adopted if they are under 3 months old.
Around 700 non-Taiwanese children are born in Taiwan each year. The circumstances of the abandoned children's families varies greatly and sometimes the abandonment is temporary. The Department places a special focus on reconnecting families.
In accordance with Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) treaty, which states that children should not be separated from their parents, the identities of the the parents, if possible, are kept on record
The Department of Health and Welfare says that of the 215 of registered abandonment cases this year, they have enrolled 92 children in the household register and 45 will receive full subsidies.
