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Article 1
This Act has been formulated in order to promote youth development; safeguard young people’s rights and dignity; assist young people to achieve self-fulfillment and enjoy a happy life; enhance young people’s participation in and fulfilling of their civic responsibilities
as citizens in a sound, democratic society; implement intergenerational justice; and boost sustainable development of the State and society.
Article 2
In this Act the term “youth” and the term “young people” both refer to citizens who are between eighteen and thirty-five years of age. If other legisation has provisions that use these terms to refer to people of a different age range, the provisions of that
other legisation apply to people within that different age range.
Article 3
In this Act the term “the competent authority” refers to the Ministry of Education at the central government level; to the special municipality governments at the special municipality level; and to the county (city) governments at the county (city) level.
If any matter stipulated in this Act involves an area over which another competent authority exercises administrative responsibility, that other competent authority shall handle the matter.
Each other competent authority with administrative responsibility over a particular area shall propagate and implement youth-related policies, legislation, and programs within the area under its jurisdiction.
The respective responsibilities of the competent authority and of the other competent authorities are as follows:
1. The competent authority: planning, promotion, and oversight of the protection of young people’s rights and interests.
2. The competent authority for labor: planning, promotion, and oversight of boosting youth employment, young people’s labor rights and interests, employment environments, career exploration assistance and vocational training.
3. The competent authority for economic affairs: planning, promotion, and oversight of youth innovation, entrepreneurship, access to startup capital, training programs, and consultations, guidance, and incubation.
4. The competent authority for housing: planning, promotion, and oversight of young people’s housing rights and interests, public and social housing, and assistance with housing purchase and rental.
5. The competent authority for health: planning, promotion, and oversight of young people’s mental health, health promotion, reproduction, and medical care.
6. The competent authority for the police: planning, promotion, and oversight of the protection of young people’s personal safety, prevention of fraud, crime prevention, and prevention of violence.
7. The competent authority for sports: planning, promotion, and oversight of youth sports development, education, competitions, industry, and sports diplomacy.
8. The competent authority for culture: planning, promotion, and oversight of young people’s participation in, enjoyment of, and creation of culture.
9. The competent authority for finance: planning, promotion, and oversight of financial products, and service measures for young people, and young people’s financial literacy, and financial management skills.
10. The competent authority for digital affairs: planning, promotion, and oversight of young people’s digital literacy, digital participation, and development of digital industries.
11. The competent authority for science and technology: planning, promotion, and oversight of youth applications of emerging and forward-looking technologies.
12. Each of the other competent authorities shall plan and handle other measures that are within the scope of their particular area of administrative responsibility.
Article 4
The central government shall implement the following matters related to youth affairs:
1. Planning, formulation, raising of public awareness, and implementation of nationwide youth development policies, legislation, and programs.
2. Oversight and coordination of the implementation of youth development policies by special municipality, and county (city) governments.
3. Allocation of and subsidies for central government appropriations related to youth development.
4. Planning and oversight of other nationwide youth development matters.
Article 5
Special municipality and county (city) governments shall implement the following matters related to youth affairs:
1. Planning, formulation, raising of public awareness, and implementation of special municipality and county (city) youth development policies, self-government laws and regulations, and programs.
2. Implementation of nationwide youth development policies, legislation, and programs.
3. Allocation of funding and subsidies for special municipality and county (city) expenses related to youth development.
4. Planning and oversight of other special municipality and county (city) youth development matters.
Article 6
When formulating policies, legislation, and programs, the State shall encourage full participation by young people, establish mechanisms for equitable youth participation, and safeguard young people’s rights to participate.
When selecting and appointing young people for such participation, governments at all levels shall take into account their being suitably representative, having a diversity of backgrounds, and regional balance, plan democratic and diverse ways for young people
to participate, and provide ample support.
Article 7
The government shall adopt specific measures to safeguard youth’s right to enjoy a sustainable society and environment in the future.
When promoting social development, the government shall establish opportunities for development and well-being that do not diminish and that enhance youth development, and jointly advance a social vision of gender equality and poverty eradication.
The government shall encourage young people to promote sustainable energy and environmental protection and to participate in supporting these and jointly achieving the goal of net zero emissions.
Article 8
The government shall adopt substantive measures to ensure youth’s rights to equitable learning and education, and work to construct diverse learning environments, expand learning beyond the classroom, assist young people to engage in aptitude-based exploration
and adapt to global developments, and enhance young people’s resilience, learning ability, and creativity.
Article 9
The government shall formulate policies and work to enhance youth employment and career development, cultivate core workplace competencies, provide aptitude-based vocational training, improve labor conditions, enhance employment environments, and create friendly
workplaces that support work–life balance.
Article 10
The government shall formulate policies and work to enhance youth innovation and entrepreneurship, create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs, provide entrepreneurial resources, and build an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Article 11
The government shall establish local youth support systems, encourage young people’s participation in regional revitalization and social innovation, provide incentives for young people to return to and remain in their home towns, and provide necessary assistance,
guidance, and services.
Article 12
The government shall formulate youth housing policies to enhance the quality of young people’s housing and implement housing justice for youth.
Article 13
The government shall formulate youth fertility and family policies, proactively provide assistance measures, ensure that childrearing environments are youth-friendly, and strengthen family caregiving, and fertility and childrearing support systems.
Article 14
The government shall adopt substantive measures to enhance young people’s physical and mental health, and increase opportunities to access mental health promotion and psychological counseling measures.
The government shall actively encourage educational institutions, organizations, legal persons, and groups to offer courses related to social and emotional learning, emotional education, and life education.
Article 15
The government shall formulate policies to develop friendly, equitable environments, and safeguard young people’s physical and mental safety.
Article 16
The government shall formulate youth sports policies, provide young people with healthy and safe environments for sports and recreational activities, boost and guide young people’s regular participation in sports and skills development, and implement equal
rights for young people in sports.
Article 17
The government shall safeguard young people’s opportunities to enjoy arts and culture related education and participate in all kinds of cultural and artistic activities, and support young people’s accessing, engaging in, and participating in cultural and artistic
work and activities, to foster their having a diverse and creative cultural and artistic life.
Article 18
The government shall formulate youth economic support policies to assist young people to achieve economic independence and ensure their having a stable economic life.
The government shall provide necessary care, welfare, and support services to alleviate the physical and mental burdens borne by youth with caregiving responsibilities.
Article 19
The government shall formulate policies to cultivate young people’s financial literacy, enhance their financial knowledge and skills, and encourage and guide financial institutions to provide youth-related financial products and services.
Article 20
The government shall actively promote young people’s public participation, train and equip young people with skills to participate in public affairs, provide opportunities for young people to engage in public affairs, nurture young people’s awareness of and
concern social issues, and enhance their democratic literacy.
The government shall safeguard the rights of young people who have reached eighteen years of age to exercise the rights to vote in elections, regarding recalls, regarding initiatives, and in referendums, in accordance with law, and it shall complete the related
legal framework within two years from the date that this Act takes effect.
Article 21
The government shall assist the development of non-profit organizations and groups which have young people as their main constituents, or support activities organized for young people by non-profit organizations and groups, and formulate related incentives,
subsidies, space resources, and capacity-building programs.
The government shall encourage enterprises and community organizations to fulfill their social responsibility, and jointly promote youth policies.
Article 22
The government shall adopt measures to encourage young people to participate in international exchanges and cooperation, strengthen young people’s international affairs-related and cross-cultural knowledge and skills, and provide economic, diplomatic, and other
necessary assistance for young people to participate in international exchanges.
Article 23
The government shall establish a digitally equitable social environment, prevent digital violence, support young people’s active participation in the digital society, enhance digital literacy, and train skilled people to work in digital fields.
The government shall enhance youth access to opportunities to learn emerging technologies and encourage young people to make good use of forward-looking technologies to create social well-being.
Article 24
Governments at all levels shall establish or designate dedicated youth affairs units to effectively promote youth policies, legislation, and programs, in response to youth affairs requirements.
Article 25
Governments at all levels shall allocate ample funding for youth development. Governments at all levels shall give young people in economically or socially disadvantaged circumstances priority when allocating incentives and subsidies, and provide related preferential
measures, reductions, and waivers.
Central competent authorities may provide incentives and subsidies to special municipality and county (city) governments to promote the development of youth affairs.
The central government shall set up a ten billion NTD Youth Development Fund, to be used for handling matters related to youth development, and make appropriations of those funds each year for the five years after this Act takes effect.
The sources of the money in the Fund referred to in the preceding paragraph are as follows:
1. Appropriations by the central government in accordance with budgetary procedures.
2. Interest accrued by the Fund.
3. Donations from individuals, enterprises, or organizations.
4. Other income.
Regulations governing the revenues and expenditures, custody, and utilization of the Fund referred to in Paragraph 3, and other related matters to be complied with shall be prescribed by the Executive Yuan.
The central government shall set up a Youth Development Fund management committee (hereunder abbreviated to the “Fund management committee”) for the revenues and expenditures, custody, and utilization of the Youth Development Fund. The Fund management committee
shall have between thirteen and fifteen members, one of whom will be the Minister of Education who will be its convener. The other members will be scholars and experts, youth representatives, and representatives of the heads of agencies that engage in youth-related
work who will be appointed by the Executive Yuan. The combined number of scholars, experts and youth representatives shall constitute at least half of the total number of members.
The term of office of the scholars and experts and youth representatives referred to in the preceding paragraph is two years and their membership of the Fund management committee may be renewed when that two-year term ends.The procedures for the formation of
the Fund management committee are as follows:
1. The Legislative Yuan shall nominate between eleven and fifteen impartial, upright members of society to form a Fund management committee member review committee (hereunder abbreviated to “the member review committee”).
2. The Executive Yuan shall nominate candidates to be the scholars, experts, and youth representatives on the management committee, submit the nominations to the member review committee, and the details of the nominated candidates who were approved by at least
half of all the members of the member review committee shall be sent to the Premier of the Executive Yuan to make the appointments.
Article 26
Every four years, the central competent authority shall consider the directions of national development, social needs, and policy visions and draw up a white paper on youth policy and submit it to the Executive Yuan for approval. The white papers will be the
basis for the administration of the youth-related policies and their implementation by other competent authorities.
Every four years, the Executive Yuan shall convene a national youth conference to broadly solicit opinions from all sectors of society and discuss nationwide youth development affairs.
Article 27
The government shall conduct research, surveys, statistics, and analyses on the current status of youth affairs and other related matters, or it shall commission, or encourage pertinent agencies or institutions, educational institutions, legal persons, or organizations
to do so.
The government may collect, process, retain, release, and provide information, in accordance with legislation, for the purpose of using youth-related research and analysis as references for youth policy formulation, establishing policy evaluation indicators,
and the development of academic research.
The government shall publish statistics on the current status of youth every four years.
Article 28
The Executive Yuan shall establish a Youth Affairs Development Council, to be convened by the Premier of the Executive Yuan and composed of scholars and experts, heads of central competent authorities, and youth representatives, to deliberate, coordinate, promote,
and supervise matters related to this Act. The Council shall be convened at least once every six months.
Special municipality governments and county (city) governments shall establish Youth Affairs Development Councils, to be convened by the heads of the special municipality governments or county (city) governments and composed of scholars and experts, heads of
relevant departments, and youth representatives, to coordinate and supervise the implementation of this Act.
The youth representatives referred to in the two preceding paragraphs shall be young people from a wide range from diverse backgrounds, and in principle, selected through democratic mechanisms and shall not be fewer than one-half of the total number of members;
no gender shall constitute less than one-third of the total number of youth representatives; and representation of various ethnic groups shall, in principle, be included.
Governments at each level shall set up a youth advisory panel to collect and make known young people’s opinions, and provide constructive suggestions pertaining to public policies that young people are concerned about.
Article 29
The government shall designate a National Youth Day to support youth and enhance public awareness of youth-related issues.
Article 30
This Act shall become effective on the date of promulgation. |