Taiwan is to consolidate “three pillars of health” to build a “Healthy Taiwan,” as the nation is expected to become a super-aged society this year, President William Lai (賴清德) said today at the opening ceremony of the Healthy Ageing Tech Show.
There are 4.57 million people aged 65 years and older, accounting for 19.6 percent of the population, Lai said.
Taiwan's elderly population is set to reach 20 percent, the threshold of a “super-aged society” as defined by the UN, he said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
It is thus the nation's responsibility to take care of the health of the aging population, he said, stressing the need for building “three pillars of health.”
The first pillar is improving healthcare quality, he said.
Since he took office, the government has been pushing reforms in the National Health Insurance system to improve the working conditions of those in the healthcare industry, he said.
The government has also initiated a healthcare plan, which takes effect from this year until 2029, with a budget of about NT$50 billion (US$1.67 billion), he added.
To meet the medicinal needs of people with cancer, a fund for cancer drugs of NT$10 billion has been established, he said.
As for chronic illnesses associated with the “three highs” — high blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels — the government has been preparing the “888 program” to identify potential patients and provide them with pre-emptive care, he said.
The second pillar is the Long-term Care 3.0 program, which is to start next year, he said.
The program would utilize artificial intelligence (AI), provide pre-emptive healthcare and raise the capacity of healthcare organizations, he said.
The third pillar is to promote a diversified elderly healthcare industry for the aging population to live a quality life with dignity, he said.
It is estimated that the value of business opportunities in the industry is to reach NT$3.6 trillion, covering basic needs, financial security and employment, he said.
The government is to collaborate with industry, academia and research institutions to create an elderly friendly environment and "silver economy," he said.
Economic opportunities arise along with challenges brought by an aging society, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in his speech.
The ministry is to cooperate with enterprises and organizations to promote the use of AI to help people build a healthy life, Kuo said.
Integrating AI products in primary healthcare is an important goal of the Long-term Care 3.0 plan, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said.
The ministry has compiled data to build an intelligent platform to serve the elderly and provide equitable access to medical service, Chiu said.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS