Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/01
By: Lillian Lin
Taipei, Nov. 1 (CNA) The concept of living in homes for the elderly is not popular among
(file photo)
Taiwanese seniors, with more than three-quarters of the population aged 65 and over preferring to living with their families, and some favoring living alone as long as they don’t have serious health problems.
In view of the continuous growth of the aged population, medical institutions and construction companies have been developing senior home communities and care centers around the island.
The high occupancy rates in some of them, however, is no evidence of popularity of senior homes, because the number of senior citizens living in such communities is relatively small — less than 15 percent of the aged population in Taiwan.
Privately operated senior homes in Taiwan, such as the Chang Gung Health and Culture Village, are open only to people in reasonably good health who can take care of themselves, and the monthly charge of some NT$20,000 (around US$600) for a 45-square-meter room for a single person or NT$31,000 (around US$950) for a 72-square- meter room for two people is considerably high for the average pensioner in Taiwan. [FULL STORY]
