National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) to address issues raised by societal aging using methods such as big data analysis.
NYCU president Lin Chi-hung (林奇宏) and NICA deputy director Lynne Corner signed the memorandum at a news conference in Taipei, making the university the center’s first partner in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s focus on health and its technological advantages are conducive to making it a global model for an aging society, said Corner, who is also the director of VOICE, an organization established by NICA to improve geriatric research by collecting knowledge and ideas from around the world.
Photo: CNA
The focus of work on aging populations should be shifted from care to “prevention,” and to designing services tailored to industry needs based on user experiences, she said.
Lin said that aging is not solely a health issue, but also affects economics, society, public health and even national security.
Just like the UK, Taiwan is at a critical point regarding its aging population, and collaboration has highlighted Taiwan’s role as an international player in fostering a vibrant and long-lived world, he said.
“Transforming academic proposals into policies is another major challenge.” Lin said.
As one-quarter of the administrative regions in Taiwan are categorized as super-aged — where more than 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older — an elder care service supply chain needs to be established to meet society’s needs, said Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津), a senior adviser to the president.
Shen said he hoped that NYCU would leverage Taiwan’s advantage in the field of digital technology to promote research outcomes globally.
British Office Taipei Economic Director Jessica Henry said that with NYCU’s 20 years of experiences in geriatric research, she hoped cooperation between the two parties would be smooth.
She also promised continued assistance from the office.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury