Taipei Councilor Proposes Priority Enrollment for Second Child in Public Daycare; City to Respond in One Month
Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua has proposed that second-born children also receive priority enrollment in public daycare centers to reduce the burden on parents who have to shuttle between two locations. Social Welfare Commissioner Yao Shu-wen responded that current capacity is insufficient and promised a reply within one month after evaluation. Taipei City had previously announced that starting in July, childcare subsidies would be expanded to make daycare free for second children and beyond, regardless of whether it is public or quasi-public.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: June 4, 2026 at 14:24
- 🔍 Collected: June 4, 2026 at 14:43 (19 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 6, 2026 at 16:01 (49h 17m after Collected)
(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 4) Taipei City announced at the end of March that starting in July, it would expand friendly childcare subsidies, making daycare free for second children and beyond, whether in public daycare (gongtuo) or quasi-public daycare (zhun gongtuo). Councilor Hsu Shu-hua has proposed that second-born children also receive priority enrollment in public daycare, saving parents the trouble of commuting between two locations for drop-offs and pickups. The Social Welfare Department responded today that it will evaluate its capacity and reply within one month.
The Taipei City Council's Civil Affairs Committee held its sixth meeting today to review councilor proposals. Among them was a proposal by Democratic Progressive Party councilor Hsu Shu-hua and others, requesting that the city government review and adjust the public daycare enrollment mechanism to include second-born children as a priority group.
Hsu Shu-hua stated that if a second child cannot enter the same public daycare as the first child, parents would have to shuttle between two locations. She hopes for a comprehensive supporting policy that is tangible for the public, in order to increase the willingness of families to have a second child.
Social Welfare Commissioner Yao Shu-wen explained that there are currently 2,008 spots in public daycare. The priority order is: first, disadvantaged families; second, families with a third child; third, children of public daycare staff; fourth, children in the local administrative district; and fifth, general families. The city plans to add 620 spots by the end of this year. However, she noted that the current capacity is insufficient to include second-born children as a priority group.
Therefore, while increasing the number of public daycare spots, the city will first implement free fees for second children who cannot be enrolled. As capacity increases in the future, the policy will be adjusted to include them. Currently, quasi-public daycare and babysitters together provide over 6,000 spots.
Councilors Hsu Shu-hua, fellow DPP councilor Hung Wan-chen, and Kuomintang councilor Chin Hui-chu all suggested that the city government should prioritize increasing public daycare capacity. In response, Yao Shu-wen said she would report back with the results of the study in one month.
The Social Welfare Department added that the total supply capacity of public and quasi-public daycare in Taipei City is 9,720 people, accounting for 80% of the city's childcare supply. Starting in July this year, the expanded friendly childcare subsidy will make daycare free for second children and beyond. Furthermore, starting in 2026 (Minguo 115), the city plans to have public daycare in every school. This year, 16 new public daycare centers will be added, providing 620 additional spots. Currently, enrollment in the five priority categories for public daycare is all determined by lottery.
Additionally, Kuomintang councilor Lin Xing-er and others proposed extending the validity period of Taipei City's pregnant women's transportation subsidy from the current six months after the expected due date to one year after the expected due date. Lin Xing-er stated that the budget remains within NT$8,000 per person and will not increase.
Yao Shu-wen said that currently about 7% of the subsidy is not fully used. The number of available vehicles has increased from 16,000 to 34,000 after Uber was added, making it easier to hail a taxi. She said the extension of the usage period will be considered together with system modifications. (Editor: Zhang Mingkun) 1150604
The Taipei City Council's Civil Affairs Committee held its sixth meeting today to review councilor proposals. Among them was a proposal by Democratic Progressive Party councilor Hsu Shu-hua and others, requesting that the city government review and adjust the public daycare enrollment mechanism to include second-born children as a priority group.
Hsu Shu-hua stated that if a second child cannot enter the same public daycare as the first child, parents would have to shuttle between two locations. She hopes for a comprehensive supporting policy that is tangible for the public, in order to increase the willingness of families to have a second child.
Social Welfare Commissioner Yao Shu-wen explained that there are currently 2,008 spots in public daycare. The priority order is: first, disadvantaged families; second, families with a third child; third, children of public daycare staff; fourth, children in the local administrative district; and fifth, general families. The city plans to add 620 spots by the end of this year. However, she noted that the current capacity is insufficient to include second-born children as a priority group.
Therefore, while increasing the number of public daycare spots, the city will first implement free fees for second children who cannot be enrolled. As capacity increases in the future, the policy will be adjusted to include them. Currently, quasi-public daycare and babysitters together provide over 6,000 spots.
Councilors Hsu Shu-hua, fellow DPP councilor Hung Wan-chen, and Kuomintang councilor Chin Hui-chu all suggested that the city government should prioritize increasing public daycare capacity. In response, Yao Shu-wen said she would report back with the results of the study in one month.
The Social Welfare Department added that the total supply capacity of public and quasi-public daycare in Taipei City is 9,720 people, accounting for 80% of the city's childcare supply. Starting in July this year, the expanded friendly childcare subsidy will make daycare free for second children and beyond. Furthermore, starting in 2026 (Minguo 115), the city plans to have public daycare in every school. This year, 16 new public daycare centers will be added, providing 620 additional spots. Currently, enrollment in the five priority categories for public daycare is all determined by lottery.
Additionally, Kuomintang councilor Lin Xing-er and others proposed extending the validity period of Taipei City's pregnant women's transportation subsidy from the current six months after the expected due date to one year after the expected due date. Lin Xing-er stated that the budget remains within NT$8,000 per person and will not increase.
Yao Shu-wen said that currently about 7% of the subsidy is not fully used. The number of available vehicles has increased from 16,000 to 34,000 after Uber was added, making it easier to hail a taxi. She said the extension of the usage period will be considered together with system modifications. (Editor: Zhang Mingkun) 1150604