President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday downplayed the problems posed by the country’s aging population, saying the welfare and national health insurance programs in place addressed the issue.
“Please don’t worry,” the president said while visiting an educational center for the elderly in Shuishang Township (水上), Chiayi County.
“With the welfare system for the senior citizens in place, the problem of an aging population is not that serious,” he said.
REST ‘INSURED’
Unlike many other countries, Ma said, Taiwan has a national insurance program and the resources spent on senior citizens are comparatively high.
That is what many other countries lack, he said.
Ma said Chiayi County had a higher ratio of senior citizens than Penghu County last year, making it the highest ratio in the country.
More than 15 percent of Chiayi County’s population is 65 years old and above.
The UN defines an “aging society” as a country where 7 percent or more of the population is aged 65 years or older.
Taiwan has fit that definition since 1993, when the segment of its population aged 65 and up first accounted for 7.1 percent, Council for Economic Planning and Development figures indicate.
Senior citizens comprised 8.8 percent of the population in 2001 and are expected to comprise 20 percent in 2026.
JAPAN COMPARISON
Ma said yesterday the public should not worry too much about the trend, because Japan had well passed the 20 percent mark.
“Taiwan has more than 1,000 centenarians and Japan has about 8,000,” he said.
“There are some 1 million Japanese who are over 90 years old. They are living a good life,” Ma said.
The public should rest assured because there are many programs in place to address the nation’s aging population, Ma said, adding that the government had a five-year, NT$500 billion (US$14.7 billion) project to improve the quality of life for senior citizens.
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
RSS