People nowadays have longer life than those who lived 100 years ago. Is it a blessing or catastrophe? What problems will we face in an aging society ? Let’s take a look at the following reports :
World Population Ageing: 1950-2050
This report was prepared by the Population Division as a contribution to the 2002 World Assembly on Ageing and its follow-up. The report provides a description of global trends in population ageing and includes a series of indicators of the ageing process by development regions, major areas, regions and countries. The report shows that:
Population ageing is unprecedented, without parallel in human history—and the twenty-first century will witness even more rapid ageing than did the century just past.
Population ageing is pervasive, a global phenomenon affecting every man, woman and child—but countries are at very different stages of the process, and the pace of change differs greatly. Countries that started the process later will have less time to adjust.
Population ageing is enduring: we will not return to the young populations that our ancestors knew.
Population ageing has profound implications for many facets of human life.
http://www.un.org/esa/population/public ... g19502050/
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/p ... ng2013.pdf
World Population Ageing 2013 United Nations • New York, 2013
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat is a vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and national action. The Department works in three main interlinked areas: (i) it compiles, generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social and environmental data and information on which Member States of the United Nations draw to review common problems and take stock of policy options; (ii) it facilitates the negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint courses of action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and (iii) it advises interested Governments on the ways and means of translating policy frameworks developed in United Nations conferences and summits into programs at the country level and, through technical assistance, helps build national capacities.
Questions:
1. What kind of life will you live when you get older? How can you guarantee that?
2. You feel______( older than, exactly, younger than) your age. Why?
3. You think you would be live to be____years old. Why?
4. What first comes to mind when you hear the word “old”? ( Freedom? Experience? Physical condition? Rest? Beginning?)
5. What do you think is the biggest issue facing the Taiwanese elderly?
6. Who is responsible for your care when you grow old? (Government? Family? Self?)
7.Do you think Taiwan is ready to handle the aged society?
Session Two:
Chang Yung-fa, the billionaire founder of Evergreen Group who turned a second-hand bulk carrier into Asia’s biggest container-shipping line, has died. He was 88. In his will written in 2014, he named his son, Chang Kuo-wei as his successor. However,
Chang Yung-fa’s other sons were not satisfied with the settlement. They took a lot of actions to prevent their younger half-brother from getting the power.
Succession battle looms as sons vie for Evergreen
The Evergreen Group (長榮集團) announced that Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒), the youngest son of group founder Chang Yung-fa (張榮發), has been named the chairman of the NT$400 billion (US$11.92 billion) shipping and transportation conglomerate.
In a statement released late on Thursday, the group confirmed that a will written by Chang Yung-fa in December 2014 named Chang Kuo-wei as his successor. Chang Yung-fa passed away on Jan. 20.
In the statement, Chang Kuo-wei, the chairman of EVA Airways Corp (長榮航), expressed “regret” for having disclosed the content of the will so early, while the succession process was still being discussed among Chang Yung-fa’s heirs and before an official statement could be released to the public.
The group’s publicly listed units — Evergreen International Storage & Transportation Corp (榮運), Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) and EVA Airways — said in separate filings with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that their operations would not be affected by the succession process.
However, industry insiders said a dispute over the succession is brewing among Chang Yung-fa’s heirs.
Stock exchange filings show that Chang Yung-fa’s three elder sons from his first wife, Lin Chin-chih (林金枝), hold significantly larger stakes in the group’s main units than Chang Kuo-wei, the only child of Chang Yung-fa’s second wife, Lee Yu-mei (李玉美).
In particular, Chang Kuo-wei’s three older brothers hold a sizable stake in Evergreen Marine Corp, the group’s flagship company.
Although the will leaked by Chang Kuo-wei states that he is the sole heir to the NT$53.6 billion in assets and company shares left by his father, it remains unclear whether he would be able to amass a controlling stake in the group.
Due to extensive cross-ownership among a number of affiliated organizations, holding companies and subsidiaries, such as the Chang Yung-Fa Foundation (張榮發基金會) and Evergreen International Corp (長榮國際), Chang Kuo-wei’s succession may be challenged, even with the addition of shareholderings previously owned by his father.
The title of group chairman is not a management position recognized by the law, and de facto leadership of the companies is largely determined by the size of shareholdings one owns.
Moreover, the Civil Code stipulates that a certain portion of the estate must be retained for all heirs, adding to uncertainties about Chang Kuo-wei’s eligibility as the sole inheritor.
Media reports last night said that Chang Kuo-wei’s elder brothers, led by Chang Kuo-hua (張國華), had sent a notification to the group’s management team to hold an extraordinary meeting, with an aim to disbanding the team, which is in charge of the group’s operations, in effect stripping Chang Kuo-wei of power.
Evergreen Group last night said it has no comment on the reports.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/nati ... d-head.htm
Questions:
1. What do you think of the succesion balltle among Chang Yung-fa’s sons? Was Chang Yung-fa’s arrangement fair to you? Why or why not?
2. Should parents leave heritages to their children or donate them the charities?
Why or why not?
3. Even the will cannot guarantee the peace among siblings. What will be the best arrangement in your opinion?
4. Have you ever talk to your parents about the succession issue or their wills? It seems to be a big taboo for Chinese people. Do you think it’s better to speak out loud when your parents are still healthy or leave everything in vague? What will be the best way to talk about this issue in your family?
Agenda:
3:45 ~ 4:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
4:00 ~ 4:10pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
4:10 ~ 4:40pm Discussion Session (30 mins)
4:40 ~ 4:55pm Summarization (15 mins)
4:55~ 5:05pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 10 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
5:15 ~ 5:55pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
5:55 ~ 6:20pm Summarization (25 mins)
6:20 ~ 6:30pm Concluding Remarks/Announcement
********************
聚會日期：列於該貼文主題內
聚會時間：請準時 4:00 pm 到 ~ 約 6:30 pm 左右結束
星期六聚會地點：丹堤濟南店
地址、電話：台北市濟南路三段25號 地圖 (02) 2740-2350
捷運站：板南線 忠孝新生站 3 號出口
走法：出忠孝新生站 3 號出口後，沿著巷子(忠孝東路三段10巷)走約 2 分鐘，到了濟南路口，左轉走約 2 分鐘即可看到。
最低消費： 80 元
注意事項：
1. 文章是否需要列印請自行斟酌，但與會者請自行列印 Questions for discussion。
2. 與會者請先閱讀過文章，並仔細想過所有的問題，謝謝合作！
給新朋友的話：
1. 請事先準備2~3分鐘的英語自我介紹；會議結束前可能會請你發表1~2分鐘的感想。
2. 請事先閱讀文章以及主持人所提的討論問題，並事先寫下自己所欲發表意見的英文。
3. 全程以英語進行，參加者應具備中等英語會話能力，對任一討論問題，能夠以5到10句英文表達個人見解。
4. 在正式加入之前，可以先來觀摩三次，觀摩者亦須參與討論。正式加入需繳交終身會費 NT$1,000。
