讀後心得

Taiwan has entered an ultra-aged society, with an increase in the number of solitary residents, resulting in incidents of "lonely deaths" becoming increasingly common and drawing attention from all sectors. The Legislative Yuan's Legal Affairs Bureau has submitted a research report, suggesting learning from the legal experiences of Japan and South Korea regarding lonely deaths and advocating for cross-ministerial cooperation to establish a hotline and consultation platform to prevent lonely deaths and address related issues. The Taiwan People's Party has also proposed a "Prevention of Lonely Deaths Act," emphasizing the need to set up a cross-ministerial consultation committee, establish a reporting system, and develop the role of "gatekeepers for the prevention of lonely deaths" to enhance measures to prevent and treat lonely deaths.

As Taiwan enters a super-aged society, the number of households living alone continues to increase, with cases of "lonely deaths" frequently emerging, which has raised significant concern across various sectors regarding this issue. Recently, the Legislative Yuan's Legal Affairs Bureau proposed a related research report on "legislation for lonely deaths in Japan and South Korea," recommending that Taiwan draw on the legislative experiences of Japan and South Korea, and utilize Taiwan's long-term care points and notification system. The government should collaborate across departments to establish hotlines and consultation platforms to prevent lonely deaths and manage post-death affairs.

The Taiwan People's Party proposed the "Lonely Death Prevention Act Draft" during this session, which not only references the experiences of Japan and South Korea but also clearly states that the central competent authority must establish a cross-departmental consultation committee for lonely death prevention, build a notification system, and promote the establishment of "gatekeepers for lonely death prevention."

The report from the Legal Affairs Bureau points out that Taiwan’s aging speed is faster than that of other countries, and the number of people living alone, particularly among middle-aged and elderly individuals, is also rising year by year, making the phenomenon of "lonely deaths" increasingly evident. Japan and South Korea have recently introduced related legislation that Taiwan can learn from. The Bureau mentioned that in June 2023, Japan launched the "Promotion Law for Measures Against Loneliness and Social Isolation," which regards "loneliness" and "isolation" as social issues, encouraging local governments to establish regional committees to organize support groups and provide professional training, as well as to create a national database to reveal the existence of hidden loneliness.

Additionally, South Korea's "Prevention and Management of Lonely Deaths Act," released in 2020, explicitly defines lonely deaths and grants citizens the right to request government assistance when facing the risk of a lonely death. According to South Korea's investigative report, the phenomenon of lonely deaths has three major characteristics: the numbers are increasing year by year, the proportion of males is higher than that of females, and men aged 50 to 60 are at high risk; in 2023, the number of lonely deaths surpassed 3,661.

In Taiwan's case, there has historically been prejudice in society towards "lonely deaths," often believing that only "the poor and childless individuals" would face such situations. However, businesses specifically handling lonely deaths have found that most cases occur among middle-aged men aged 35 to 65, many of whom have families and children. Therefore, the underlying causes of lonely deaths can be attributed to changes in family structure, weakened familial ties, and the estrangement of interpersonal relationships.

The Legal Affairs Bureau suggests that Taiwan can improve the relevant legal framework and establish electronic databases through existing community care points, neighborhood notification systems, etc. At the same time, the Executive Yuan should coordinate the establishment of a cross-departmental cooperation mechanism and set up hotlines and consultation platforms to allow those in need to quickly obtain assistance in preventing lonely deaths and properly managing related social issues.

The draft submitted by the Taiwan People's Party indicates that as Taiwan faces declining birth rates and an aging population, the number of lonely deaths due to suicide and illness is gradually increasing, often going undetected for several days. According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, there are now 3.32 million single-person households in Taiwan, and these individuals face the risk of lonely death without a safety net.

The draft clearly states that lonely death is a death caused by social isolation and should be addressed based on individual, family, and social factors from multiple aspects, including physiological, psychological, social, economic, cultural, and educational dimensions. The draft specifies that the central competent authority will be the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which will establish a cross-departmental consultation committee for lonely death prevention, and local areas should also establish corresponding mechanisms to ensure annual budget allocations to support related work.

Moreover, the central competent authority should develop a national plan for lonely death prevention, including current situation surveys, analysis of the characteristics of death data, and promoting education and training for lonely death prevention, as well as assisting media and online platforms in adhering to the principles of reporting lonely deaths to establish a self-regulatory mechanism. The draft also defines lonely death prevention gatekeepers as those who can identify the risk of lonely deaths and provide assistance.

The draft also stipulates the establishment of a lonely death prevention notification system, enabling medical personnel, social workers, long-term care service providers, and other relevant individuals to carry out necessary reporting when aware of lonely death situations, with the identity information of these reports being protected.

Members of the Taiwan People's Party have mentioned the issue of lonely deaths in videos, emphasizing that in addition to the elderly living alone, society also needs to identify other lonely individuals who require help, thereby developing strategies to prevent loneliness. Primary measures include establishing consultation hotlines, managing individual cases, and creating community spaces where lonely individuals have the chance to interact with others.