The nation had 5,542 centenarians on record as of September, an increase of 531 from a year earlier, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s most recent census conducted ahead of the Double Ninth Festival yesterday showed.
The festival — the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar — is a holiday honoring elderly people.
City and county government officials yesterday observed the custom of personally visiting the household of centenarians and presenting them with a gold locket — symbolizing longevity and good fortune — as a sign of respect for centenarians.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan City Government
The number of centenarians in Taiwan first reached 5,000 in 2022 and rose to 5,011 last year, ministry data showed.
Funds spent to acquire the golden lockets this year totaled NT$59.8 million (US$1.86 million), up by NT$15 million from last year, the ministry said.
PRESIDENTIAL VISIT
President William Lai (賴清德) personally visited centenarian Yeh Hsu Hsiu-ying (葉徐秀英), who resides in Taoyuan’s Bade District (八德), and presented her with the golden locket, the ministry said.
Yeh Hsu was born when Taiwan was still under Japanese colonial rule and was adopted alongside her elder brother, who did not survive his childhood, the ministry said.
Yeh Hsu and her husband did not have children of their own and adopted a daughter, through whom she now has seven grandchildren, it said.
Yeh Hsu used to prepare her own food and move around freely before falling twice last year, her family said.
She now requires assistance to manage day-to-day activities and uses a wheelchair to move around, the family said.
Lai asked after her health and conveyed to her, and all elderly people in the nation, his respect and well-wishes.
Social and Family Affairs Administration Deputy Director-General Chou Tao-chun (周道君) urged the public to look after elders in their family.
HYPER-AGED
Separately, the ministry said that Taiwan is expected to officially become a hyper-aged society by next year and the government has established 4,916 community care centers nationwide.
The government has continued to update and modernize its long-term healthcare program to provide medical and hospice care for elderly people across the nation said, the ministry said.
Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政), who visited Yeh Hsu alongside the president, also presented her with a gold foil painting and wished her a happy Double Ninth Day.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS