Xiao Meiqin attends new church hall opening, urges public‑private partnership for child‑rearing.

With the anticipation of local believers and various sectors of society, the Shanjiao Church in Miaoli County's Yuanli Township officially held an inauguration and thanksgiving service for its new sanctuary today. Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim specially attended the local milestone event, gathering with church members in the Miaoli area to witness this historic moment for the church. In her speech, Hsiao extended her congratulations on the completion and opening of the Shanjiao Church. She expressed her hope that this newly established space of faith will continue to serve as a spiritual sanctuary for the local community, remaining an important place for people to learn about the faith, receive spiritual comfort and blessings, and inject warm and stabilizing strength into the locality.

In addition to congratulating the church on its completion, Hsiao used this public occasion to further elaborate on the current core values and key policy directions of the central government's administration to grassroots citizens. She pointed out that in the face of Taiwan's declining birth rate and overall changes in social structure, the government has continued to actively promote various livelihood-related childcare and family support policies in recent years. These concrete measures include gradually increasing childrearing allowances, expanding childcare subsidies, and promoting friendly workplace environments. Through the investment of state resources, the government hopes to alleviate the economic and caregiving pressures faced by young parents in raising the next generation, thereby building a more inclusive and supportive environment for raising children.

However, the Vice President also specially emphasized that government resources and strength are ultimately limited, and that society's safety net and childcare support system often require the joint reinforcement of private forces to achieve perfection. She stated that churches and various grassroots civic organizations have long been deeply rooted in local communities, possessing a high degree of sensitivity and enthusiastic care for the needs of local families and vulnerable groups. Therefore, she particularly hopes that in the future, more churches and civil organizations will continue to maintain a close partnership with the government, working hand in hand to care for every family in the local area, so that every child can grow up safely and healthily in an environment filled with love and care.

The Shanjiao Church possesses deep historical roots and emotional connections to the local community in Miaoli's Yuanli area. The completion and opening of this new sanctuary not only provides local believers with a more spacious and modernized venue for gatherings and worship, but also symbolizes an upgrade in the church's local service functions. For a long time, many local churches in Taiwan have not only performed religious rituals, but have also acted as community care centers, after-school tutoring classes, or promoters of social welfare such as communal meals for the elderly. With the improvement of the new sanctuary's physical facilities, various sectors of the local community generally expect that the church will further expand its scope of community service in the future, becoming an important hub for promoting local cohesion.

Reviewing the Vice President's remarks during her attendance at the Shanjiao Church inauguration ceremony, it not only demonstrated the government's emphasis on the development of grassroots religious groups, but also precisely aligned with Taiwan's most urgent current issues regarding the declining birth rate and welfare policies. Through high-level central government officials stepping into local communities to engage in dialogue and share expectations with grassroots religious and civil forces, the administration seeks to convey the importance of the governance concept of "public-private cooperation." Amidst the increasingly severe challenges of the low birth rate crisis, only by combining the guidance of national policies with the gentle reach of private religious and social groups can a tighter and warmer care network be woven across every corner of Taiwan.