Touwfen mayoral candidate Tseng Wen-hsueh proposes care network focused on early intervention, home pharmacists and respite services

Tseng Wen-hsueh, a Miaoli County councillor preparing to run for mayor of Touwfen, has put forward a welfare platform built around a citywide care network serving children and older adults.

Tseng said local government should avoid blindly expanding cash payments, which could create a long-term burden for the city office’s finances. Instead, she proposed directing limited resources toward residents who need them most through targeted program budgets.

Her first proposal would add to existing central-government support for early intervention. Touwfen would provide children aged 0 to 6 with up to NT$12,000 a year toward out-of-pocket treatment costs. The city office would also work regularly with hospitals and local groups to offer developmental screening and consultations, with the stated aim of identifying needs early and intervening promptly.

A second measure, called “the pharmacist comes to your home,” would work with local pharmacies and professional pharmacists to deliver chronic-disease prescriptions to older people who live alone, have disabilities or cannot move easily. The visits would also include home care and health education.

The third proposal would establish respite-care subsidies with trained and qualified care workers. The service would cover needs beyond existing long-term-care allowances and emergency gaps while families wait for applications to be processed. Tseng said the city office should step in from childhood through old age so that families do not carry the full burden of care alone.