Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin arrived at the plaza of Tianmu Baseball Stadium to attend the World Alzheimer’s Day 2009 activity on September 19.

The World Alzheimer’s Day falls on September 21. To promote awareness of the disease, 25 municipalities across Taiwan joined their counterparts in 71 countries to hold the activity.

During the event, Hau accompanied baseball players from the Brother Elephants and the Sinon Bulls in reciting the event’s slogan on the stage; he also presided over a quiz on the subject of dementia. Two participants won baseballs with the mayor’s autograph by giving the right answers during the quiz.

Hau stressed that the Alzheimer’s is a disease that commonly targets senior citizens. He encourages everyone to pay more attention to their loved ones – especially the elderly; early diagnoses allow early treatment. In addition, regular exercising also helps to keep dementia at bay.

The city government has carried out preliminary examinations for 36,000 senior citizens. The results indicated that 2.6 percent of the subjects (about 900 individuals) showed signs of the disease.

Hau reminded the public that if they see middle-aged family members showing signs of memory lapse, mood disorder, and personality changes, they should look for medical assistance as soon as possible.