TAIPEI, (TaiwanToday) – Premier Cho Jung-tai said Febuary 3 in Taipei City, the government is implementing additional policy measures to promote a healthier Taiwan for the benefit of the people.
Cho made the remarks at the 2026 Healthy Aging Forum organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan and American Institute in Taiwan. Those in attendance included AIT Director Raymond Greene and AmCham Taiwan president Carl Wegner.
The premier said that president Lai Ching-te’s medical training has led him to make promoting health a policy priority since his presidential campaign in 2024. Cho added that Taiwan has become a super-aged society, with people aged 65 and above accounting for more than 20 percent of the population, and that the government is adjusting the country’s education, social and welfare systems in response to the demographic shift.
While average life expectancy is 80 years, Cho said the unhealthy life expectancy is around eight years, during which individuals suffer, in addition to incurring high medical costs that impact themselves, their families and the national medical system.
To address this challenge, the premier said the government has proposed a prevention project that targets patients suffering from hypertension, high blood sugar and high blood lipids, as well as a three-pronged cancer treatment and prevention strategy.
Another major initiative is the Long-term Care Plan 3.0 that kicked off this year. With a budget of NT$115.3 billion (US$3.65 billion), the new initiative is an extension of a precedent project, which has set up more than 15,000 care centers around the country and trained over 100,000 caregivers so far.
The premier thanked AIT and AmCham Taiwan for their support of Taiwan, as well as their understanding of the government’s health policies. He commended AmCham Taiwan for advancing bilateral exchanges in health-related issues through its hosting of health forums since 2019.
