The problem of an aging population has come to Taiwan later than it did to most Western nations, but it is coming fast; the rate at which Taiwan's population is graying is the second highest in the world.

Although France began to become a "senior" society as early as 1865, it took 130 years for the percentage of the population that was considered "aged" to rise from 7% to 14%. In Sweden, this process took 85 years. In the US, it took 70 years, while in Britain and West Germany, it was 45.

As for Taiwan, although it only passed the 7% threshold in 1993, it is aging rapidly. Taiwan's elderly population is expected to double from the 1993 figure in only 27 years. The time frame within which this aging has taken place is faster than in any nation but Japan, where the process is forecast to take only 24 years.

Unfiliality is a crime

The faster a population ages, the less time that society has to prepare. The sudden recognition of the looming problem of an elderly population has left people at a loss as to what to do. Issues such as social welfare for the elderly, a policy on senior citizens, and even the fundamental question of whose responsibility it is to care for these seniors remain very unclear. The government feels that the responsibility for the elderly lies with their children, while families expect more help from the government.

Officials with the Ministry of the Interior's Bureau of Social Affairs, which administers social welfare benefits for the elderly, make comments like: "Every nation's culture is different. You cannot apply one standard to all." And: "You can't dump all of a family's responsibilities onto the government!"

In the revisions to laws on social welfare benefits for the elderly published in June of 1997, it states that the care of the aged is the duty of the family. The law provides for the punishment of those who do not fulfill their duty with "fines of not less than NT$30,000 and not more than NT$150,000 and the publication of the offender's name." Such failures to fulfill one's duty include such things as abandoning an elderly person, restricting his freedom, inflicting physical or psychological abuse or harm, or leaving an elderly person who is unable to care for himself in a place where he might easily come to harm.

The family is not a panacea

But seniors' groups and scholars are critical, saying that the government's ideas about "the principle of filial piety" and on "three generations living together" are merely excuses to foist the problem off on the family.

"Those of us engaged in social work appreciate that there is a difference between the ideal and the reality of the situation," says Li Hsiung, executive director of the Taipei Elders' Foundation. He feels that the growing prevalence of problems involving the elderly can't simply be attributed to a lack of filial piety on the part of their children. He says that the major factors are rather changes in lifestyle and in the family structure.

And while the number of elderly in Taiwan is seeing explosive growth, the number of nuclear families is also growing. Further, in the past, women were the primary caregivers in the home, but now around 70% of women hold jobs outside the home.

Changes in the environment have made traditions such as several generations living together and "raising children to have someone to look after you in your old age" outmoded. "In the past, everyone thought that the family was the cure for all ills," says Lin Wan-yi, director of National Taiwan University's department of sociology. He believes that policymakers are not aware of the speed at which the structure of families has been changing, and that their continued promotion of a policy of "filial piety" has caused them to miss their chance to resolve the problem.

"Ideas change as the social environment changes," says Lin. He thinks that the reason elderly Taiwanese tend to look to their children to care for them in their old age is that Taiwanese society continually stresses the idea of filial piety and encourages the generations to live together. "In this kind of social atmosphere, the elderly will naturally have these kinds of expectations."

Moreover, nothing has come along to replace this model, which is a major reason today's elderly hold onto their families so tightly.

On a TV show which discusses the relationship between the sexes and marital relations, Shih Chi-ching, one of the organizers of the Warm Life Association, blamed the adversarial relationship which exists between Taiwanese wives and mother-in-laws on Taiwan's lack of a policy on the elderly. "At the moment, there's no other way for the elderly than 'raising a child to support you in your old age.' This means mothers hold onto their sons very tightly."

Hu You-hui, an assistant professor in the institute of public health at National Yang Ming University, thinks that having several generations living together is unfair to women. In Living with Elderly Parents-The Myth and the Trap, she writes: "Not only does having the elderly live with their children privatize the problem of the aged, it stands in the way of equality between the sexes and creates difficulties between mothers- and daughters-in-law."

Who can really live with their parents?

Regardless of whether it is the case that people today are not as filial as their ancestors or that the government is taking the problem of an aging population too lightly and doing too little to prevent what could be a future catastrophe, it is clear that headlines such as "Elderly Woman of 80 Dies, Remains Undiscovered for Several Days," "Body of Retired Teacher Found in Bathtub, Dead for More Than a Month" and "Body of Retired Soldier in His Sixties Lies in Bed for a Week" are becoming all too common.

How many senior citizens live alone in Taiwan? According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, about 64% of the island's elderly live with their children. Another 21% live with or next door to a spouse, while about 12% live alone. No matter how much the government encourages children to take in their parents, the proportion of old people who live with their kids is going to continue to fall.

Moreover, the result of the "priva-tization" of the problem of the elderly has forced many families to confront their inability to care for their aged parents.

Who should care for the elderly? According to research conducted by Wu Shwu-chung, an associate professor in the Institute of Public Health at National Taiwan University, one-third of the island's elderly are cared for by a spouse. Another third are looked after by a daughter-in-law. This is clearly the root of the problems that exist between mothers- and daughters-in-law.

No one doing anything

Wu believes that the government can't keep using "filial piety" to stall the resolution of the problem of the elderly. "We don't advocate families doing nothing, but we do expect that public policy can be used to help out."

Li Hsiung works on the front lines, helping those among Taipei's senior citizens who are poor, ill, or abused. Looking at the situation today, he can't help speculating about what will happen when he himself becomes a senior citizen. "Sometimes I can't help but wonder which of my five children will turn out to be the most filial. But I don't really know." Li says that if your expectations are not too high, you can't be too seriously disappointed. He thinks that the idea of raising a child to care for you in your old age is already outmoded. All you can do is hope that Taiwan's social welfare system becomes more complete.

Who will care for the elderly? It is a question worth pondering and one which must be addressed with careful planning. It will certainly not be resolved by government procrastination and lack of action on the part of families.

Other than living with their children, is there any solution to the problem of the elderly?