TAIWAN: Policies For Elderly Get It All Wrong

"The government believes that in the future, senior citizens will be a heavy burden on society. With such a mindset, of course, the government's policy is to truck them off to nursing homes," comments an editorial by Chiou Tian-juh in Taipei Times TAIPEI, Taiwan (Taipei Times), October 24, 2007: Last Friday, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, was the Chongyang Festival (重陽節), also called Double Nine (重九) Festival. The Chongyang Festival is an age-old tradition that has always been an important holiday, with government institutions and civil organizations showing their respect for elders. The nation has a population of more than 2.3 million people over the age of 65. This year, the government saw through three major policies, including an amendment to the Senior Citizens Welfare Act (老人福利法), and the establishment of a National Pension Program (國民年金) and 10-year plan for long-term care. The ministry announced that it hoped to allocate NT$80 billion in funds to ensure that elderly people receive the best public health care. The ministry said this was the best gift for the nation's senior citizens on Double Nine day. On the eve of the festival, the government also announced that nursing homes reserved for veterans would be opened to the general public, and touted the move as a great improvement in public welfare. Although these welfare measures look good at first glance, at their core is prejudice against senior citizens. The measures imply that senior citizens are a social problem and a burden for the nation. In other words, regardless of the capabilities or the wishes of senior citizens, in the eyes of the government, senior citizens are a group of people that have lost their skills and are dependent on others. The government believes that in the future, senior citizens will be a heavy burden on society. With such a mindset, of course, the government's policy is to truck them off to nursing homes. But senior citizens are a product of the system. To paraphrase the words of French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir: Elderly are not born, but made. The forced retirement system, for example, pushes people who are still able and willing to work out of the labor market and turns them into unproductive senior citizens. The implementation of the preferential early retirement plan, that extends the period over which a pension is paid, makes some people who have not yet reached retirement age join the ranks of the "old." Then they have to be cared for by the young. Age discrimination is widespread in society and it depreciates the status of senior citizens and marginalizes them. In the end, they become "old," a burden for society and welfare recipients. For many years, government policymakers tried to solve the issue of senior citizens through non-productive welfare plans. There was a lack of policies that encouraged senior citizens to remain active. The government is digging its own grave with such policies, which are bound to push the national budget over the edge in the future. A cursory review of budget allocations reveals that the elderly population has always been a major user of social welfare. Welfare for senior citizens as part of the entire social welfare budget went up from 24 percent in 1996 to 94 percent last year, using up almost the entire budget for social welfare. As much as 95.6 percent of welfare for senior citizens consisted of subsidies for senior citizens. But although the government increases these subsidies year after year, it cannot change the sort of class structure that exists according to age. Elderly people still face discrimination in society, and can't find a way out. According to statistics from the Department of Health, over the past 10 years, the suicide rate among the nation's elderly population has gone up from 37.67 of every 10,000 people in 1996 to 42.13 of every 10,000 people last year. This is twice as high as the average suicide rate for the general populace and six times as high as that for people between 15 and 24. According to research carried out by a human resources service this year, at 59 percent of companies less than five percent of the employees are middle-aged and elderly people. The employment rate of middle-aged and elderly laborers is even lower than two years ago. Less than 10 percent of companies would choose a job applicant over 40 years of age. Statistics show that the labor participation rate of people over 65 in Taiwan has dropped from 9.79 percent in 1995 to 7.27 percent in 2005. In May, the legislature amended the Employment Services Act (就業服務法), banning companies from discriminating on the basis of age when hiring people. But when it comes to government institutions like the Investigation Bureau, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others, the Council of Labor Affairs can only try to convince them. In order to allow senior citizens to spend the autumn of their lives in peace and lighten the burden on the government's budget, the state has put its hopes in the establishment of a system of annuities in the national budget. But according to a Swedish study over a period of 23 years, receiving annuities did not significantly change the lives of senior citizens for the better. On the contrary, the system hurt the image of being old, and society continued to be prejudiced about elderly. The study found that younger Swedes were jealous of the retirement annuities "greedy grandparents" receive, while also sympathetic to lonely elderly. If the government really wants to give senior citizens a gift to celebrate the Chongyang Festival, it should not increase welfare, but change its view of elderly. The framework behind policies for senior citizens must shift away from being a welfare system that sees senior citizens as needing help with the hardships of old age. The government should implement a law against age discrimination in all contexts so that no one has to suffer from age discrimination, whether it be at work, in the family, in the education system or in health care. The working conditions for older workers should also be improved, so that senior citizens who are able and willing to work can continue to make a contribution to society, and clear themselves of the reputation of dependents. Finally, the government should create an obstacle-free living environment for the elderly. Only then will Taiwan have a society that everyone, regardless of their age, can enjoy. Chiou Tian-juh is a professor of social psychology at Shih Hsin University. Translated by Anna Stiggelbout Copyright © 1999-2007 The Taipei Times.