If a big clan lived in a traditional compound centered around their own courtyard, anyone that was sick or out of work could recuperate under the protective wings of the extended family, "says Taipei County deputy chief Lin Wan-yi, who is currently planning the county's social welfare system. Within a single generation, the functions of the family declined greatly.
「一直到我們上一代，家族都還具有很強的自給自足功能，偌大家族擠在一個四合院落裡，生病了，失業了，都能在家族的羽翼下獲得庇護」，正在苦心擘劃社會福利制度的台北縣副縣長林萬億指出。