The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) held a press conference for the Second National Report on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the CHANG YUNG-FA FOUNDATION International Convention Center earlier this morning (November 19, 2021).

      The Minister without Portfolio, Lin Wan-I, who is the chairperson of the Executive Yuan's Child and Youth Welfare and Rights Promotion Group, served as the press conference speaker along with the executive secretary of the Promotion Group and Deputy Minister of the MOHW, Lee Li-Feng, outlining the specific initiatives and areas of improvement that the government has taken over the past five years in the gradual implementation of the CRC and it is anticipated that an international review conference will be held next year (2022) to demonstrate Taiwan’s commitment to the implementation of the international community's protection of children and youth’s rights.

      More than 10 Central Government’s Representatives of Children and Youth were specially invited to the press conference to witness the efforts and accomplishments of Taiwan’s drive for the CRC. Among the distinguished guests present at the event were Members of the National Human Rights Commission, Taiwan, Yeh, Ta-Hua, and subcommittee members of the Child and Youth Welfare and Rights Promotion Group under the Executive Yuan and MOHW, and representatives from various ministries.

      Chairperson Lin Wan-I said that since the initiation of the《the Implementation Act of the CRC》 on the 20th of November 2014, which is also World Children's Day, the government has proactively established a national reporting system. The initial national report was released in 2016 and in 2017, five international review committee members were invited to Taiwan. The review committee affirmed Taiwan’s commitment to the CRC and established the Executive Yuan's Child and Youth Welfare and Rights Promotion Group to consolidate the efforts of all government departments to collaborate towards the development of children and youth's rights.

      Various ministries have developed follow-up action plans over the past five years in response to the Concluding Observations made by the international review committee and have pushed for several legislative amendments and improvements to protect children and youth's rights.

      Deputy Minister Lee Li-Feng stressed that during the process of writing the second national report, apart from proactively demonstrating the results of the efforts and implementation over the past five years, the government departments also held continuous dialogues with Representatives of Children and Youth and Civil Society Groups, holding a total of eight consultation meetings and obtaining opinions from a variety of sectors through the internet. It is clear from this national report that our child population is decreasing each year due to the effects of the low-birth rate. However, the government's budget for children and youth is increasing year by year, from NTD380.9 billion in 2017 to NTD435.4 billion in 2020, reflecting the importance Taiwan places on children and youth.

      Deputy Minister Lee Li-Feng elaborated further on the key achievements of the national report. Firstly, the government has established the Central Children and Youth Delegation in order to implement the core value of children's rights, with a total of 60 Representatives of Children and Youth from various local governments to participate in many public affairs platforms related to children and youth to speak out for children. Secondly, in line with the CRC's view that the family is the most suitable developmental environment for children, the government has integrated inter-ministerial resources to counter the issue surrounding the declining birth rate and to support parents in taking care of their children.

      The "Nation’s child care policy for ages 0-6" was also introduced this year to increase resources for public and quasi-public childcare, and to raise the amount of child-rasing allowance and daycare subsidy to ease the burden on parents. In addition, The Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act was revised, and the Strengthening Social Safety Net Plan was promoted to protect children and youth from violence. For the victims of child abuse, appropriate alternative care is provided to meet their specific needs for the well-being of children and youth.

      Furthermore, in June 2019, the Juvenile Justice Act was substantially amended in response to the CRC’s special protection measures for the judicial human rights of children and youth, allowing children who have violations in law to return to educational and social system. Meanwhile, establishing the advanced mechanism of administrative counseling for juveniles exposed in danger and reversing the pre-delinquent mark, as well as increasing the diversified treatment measures to help juveniles return to the social system.

      A comprehensive national report will be released by the MOHW today on the CRC website (https://crc.sfaa.gov.tw/) for public viewing.