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.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to