Senior folks taking over Taiwan's match-making market

Taiwan's society is rapidly aging.

According to a Taiwan media report, as of January this year the number of people aged over 60 years old has reached 4.09 million, or 17.5 percent of the total population, whereas in 2000, the proportion was only 12 percent.

Fortunately, seniors there have found ways to stay young and positive.

For instance, finding love online.

Along with the elderly population explosion, seniors' socializing territory, which was to a substantial extent confined to parks in the vicinity of their neighborhood where they would do a little folk dancing, has been expanded to include online match-making websites, where they look for a partner to share the rest of their life.

A recent "grey hair generation" match-making event organized by a match-making website was very well received by its elderly participants, according to Mrs. Zhan, manager of the website.

"A lot of seniors registered for the event online, some even came all the way from Yilan to Taoyuan," said Mrs. Zhan.

"One of them was an 84-year-old grandpa; he was very active, very well prepared for the event, meticulously dressed and very good-mannered; he brought a resume with him, stating the specifics about his family, his children, and his hobbies, and he even brought a tenure salary certificate to prove that he was 'Mr Right'," Mrs. Zhan recounted.

And the conscientious attitude helped the grandpa find his better half, according to Mrs. Zhan.

A 77-year-old single grandma explained why she had opted for such an event.

"All my kids have grown up now, it's time for me to find someone who can talk with me, walk with me, maybe drink coffee or see a movie with me. It doesn't matter at all whether we get married or not," she said.

The most popular topics among the elderly at such events revolve around raising grandchildren and keeping healthy, such as which place sells the best clothing for kids, and which special-interest is a must for sign-up; it appears that grandpas who share experience in practicing Qigong to ameliorate chronic conditions are especially popular with the grandmas.