Concerns for Welfare of Elderly People Living Alone
Taiwan is home to a growing number of senior citizens who live alone. But there are contradictory figures about how many may be out there, sparking concerns those needing social services aren't being counted.
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00:00As Taiwan's population ages, the number of senior citizens living alone is on the rise.
00:05Though they may have enough money to support themselves, advocates for their welfare worry
00:09they may be vulnerable, whether to scams aimed at older people or to accidents like falls.
00:14These groups want to make sure safety nets are in place for these older people.
00:18But getting help where it's needed could be tricky.
00:31It's not even clear how many of these people there are.
00:34While the Interior Ministry counted 670,000 at the end of last year,
00:38the Health Ministry only counted 390,000.
00:42Health Ministry officials say there are reasons for this big gap,
00:45from the way the ministries define senior citizens to the way they gather their statistics.
01:09But welfare groups worry the Health Ministry may be undercounting.
01:13They say there should be only one definition, anyone 65 or older who lives alone.
01:18Until then, they worry many in need of social services or care
01:22won't be able to get them before it's too late.
01:25James Lin and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.