Taiwan Church News
3386 Edition
January 16 – 22, 2017
Church Ministry
PCT Ponders To Join Taiwan Government’s Long-Term Care Network
Reported by Lin Jia-chin
To respond Taiwan’s fast aging society and central government’s long-term care policy 2.0 launched officially in 2017, a PCT seminar, entitled as “How Taiwan Can Help Build Taiwan Government’s Long-Term Care Network”, was held at Chi-nan Presbyterian Church in the afternoon on January 15.
Jointly organized by PCT Peace Foundation and Chi-nan Presbyterian Church, renown experts and lawmaker in the field of social welfare were invited to deliver their thoughts, including DPP Legislator Mrs Wu Yu-chin, Secretary Chen Mar-li of Taiwan Women’s Development Association, Deputy executive officer Chang Jen-yan of PCT Peace Foundation, Director Chang Ming-miao of Suang-Lien Elderly Cente, and etc.
Many aborigines from Hua-lien and Tai-tung, pastors of non-PCT denominations, and the medical and nursery staff of MacKay Memorial Hospital were attracted to attend this seminar to learn how Taiwan church could help build a more comprehensive long-term care network. Noteworthy is the appearance of Prof Sun Der-hsiung, an experienced NTU academic of Taiwan demography, showing his great interest on this issue.
DPP Legislator Mrs Wu Yu-chin expressed that, due to a very limited budget in the past 10 years, only 25.6% of the Taiwanese understood a long-term care policy had been existed from 2007. Through launching the policy to accommodate 4 more kinds of people: dementia over 50-years-old; the disabled aborigine between 55 and 64-years-old; the disabled with handicap under 49-years-old; the disabled aged over 65-years-old, and providing more comprehensive services in three levels: A level at borough; B level at block; C level at street/lane, Tsai administration unveiled the project of “long-term care 2.0” from 2017 in order to take more care of the aged and disabled.
Regarding the problems inherent in the policy of long-term care 2.0, Mrs Wu remarked that, except the insufficiency of financial budget and human resources, the problem of finding a suitable location within the community is also a headache for current central government. And this is an opportunity for the church, observed Mrs Wu, adding that Taiwan church could help build up a better long-term care 2.0 via opening church space and provide the quality care service to the community.
Rev Chen Ming-yi, secretary of PCT Pine Life(Senior Citizens) Ministry Committee, expressed that PCT has always kept a close watch on the government’s long-term care policy for years. A series of PCT assembly inviting local churches to join the government’s long-term network will be launched from this March, said Rev Chen.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
In a PCT seminar, entitled as “How Church Can Help Build Taiwan Government’s Long-Term Care Network”, DPP Legislator, Mrs Wu Yu-chin(second from right), shared her thoughts at Chi-nan Presbyterian Church in the afternoon on January 15.
Photo by Kang Hong-chi
