Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
In celebration of Women's Day, the KMT Women's Department created a "women's wishing well" on the party's Web site, inviting women to make a wish, with one lucky participant being chosen to have her dream come true -- with Ma's help.
Chou Chong-hsin's (
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
"Nearly 10 percent of the population is over the age of 65. We need a good caregiving policy, so that women won't be overly burdened by the responsibility to take care of the elderly," Ma said yesterday during his visit.
Chou, who for 12 years has been a full-time housewife and caregiver of six elderly family members, including her parents, parents-in-law and grandparents-in-law, told Ma that while she is happy to have her relatives around, the lack of a good support system has made caregiving a heavy burden for the nation's women.
"The government has not handled this issue very well, so we women are suffering ? I hope that Chairman Ma can understand what it feels like to be a female caregiver," she said.
Ma sat with 101-year-old grandfather Chi Kuang-lie (
Chou said she had not considered sending her elderly family members to an old-age home due to their wishes to stay with the family. Ma then proposed that the government should develop a community-based caregiving service.
"My mother lives next to my place, and it is convenient for me to go there to have meals or chat with her," Ma said. "I think community-based senior apartments would be good for the elderly, enabling them to be taken care of in professional institutions, and their children to visit them on a frequent basis."
More than 59 percent of the 1,012 female participants in a KMT online survey conducted between March 2 and March 6 agreed that they have more concerns than men, and about 50 percent said that concerns about the future had prevented them from having children.
According to the survey, the policies women would most like to see enacted relate firstly to their personal safety, followed by the provision of care for the elderly, and employment.
The government should put aside the debate over unification and independence and focus its efforts on improving the country's economy and other livelihood issues, Ma said.
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