Match-Making Day for Civil Servants on the Anvil in Taiwan

"Match-making" holidays for government employees have been proposed by a Taiwanese lawmaker in a bid to boost the island's falling marriage and birth rates, his office said. Lin Hung-chih called for "creative measures" to marry off a high number of single civil servants, such as granting them up to two days off a year to join match-making activities, it said in a statement.

A record low of 117,099 Taiwanese couples tied the knot in 2009, down 24.4 percent from the previous year, according to the interior ministry.

The island's birth rate is also among the world's lowest. Only 191,310 babies were born last year, with the average birth rate falling to 1.03 for each woman, well below the replacement rate of 2.1 births.

Taiwan's authorities have been offering various incentives to try to boost birth rates, amid growing concerns that a shrinking population and severe manpower shortage will trigger serious social and economic problems.

Source-AFP