Solving an Age Old Problem

　　More than 10 years ago, the song Come HomeAs Often As You Can to See Your Parents becamepopular in China, reminding young people of their obligationto set aside their hectic lives and return to theirhometowns to visit their aging parents. Today, the ideaexpressed in this song has been codified in Chinese law.

　　On July 1, the amended Law onthe Protectionof Rights and Interests of the Aged went into effect.The amended law requires family members to attendto the psychological needs of their older relativesand to visit them or send greetings on a regularbasis.

　　The next day after the amendment went intoeffect, a court in Wuxi City in east China’s JiangsuProvince tried the case of a 77-year-old woman,surnamed Chu, who was suing her daughter andson-in-law, who are both in their 50s, for not visitingher regularly. The court finally supported Chu andjudged that the two defendants must visit theirmother at least once every other month. Observersnote that court-ordered visits will be less about filialpiety and more about fulfilling a legal obligation. Thisruling and the new law have caused debate throughoutChina.

　　A reminder

　　A survey conducted in early July by the Social InvestigationCenter of China Youth Daily found that 66.9percent of respondents support the law while 11.7percent object to it. More than one-fifth of surveyparticipants indicated that they would visit theirparents more often after the law goes intoeffect.

　　Due to China’s rapid urbanization, manyyoung people who have moved to cities do nothave the time to visit their parents due towork pressures.

　　“Its [the new law’s] primary goalis tourge all of society to pay attention toelders,” said Yuan Xin, Professor of PopulationStudies at Nankai University in Tianjin.

　　Wan Hengjun runs a small companyin Beijing. He and his wife often return totheir hometown in Shandong Province to see theirparents during holidays and festivals.

　　In Wan’s opinion, there are many ways for youngpeople to show filial piety to their parents, andthey should not be evaluated only by the frequencyof their visits. “But, if a person seldom goes hometo see their parents, it definitely means that they donot treat their parents well,” Wan told ChinAfrica. “Foryoung people like me, the law is a good reminder.”

　　Hard to be implemented

　　But the new law has also raised doubts, especiallyin regards to whether or not it can be effectivelyimplemented. On the one hand, the law does not givean exact definition of how often children should visittheir parents; on the other hand, it’s hard for manyyoung people to go back home often because oftheir tense work and long distance.

　　“I want to see my parents frequently, but I cannot,”said Zhao, a security guard in a Beijing officebuilding, who was only willing to give hissurname. “If I ask for vacation and go home,my company will have to find a replacementand I may be fired and have to look for a newjob when I come back.”

　　Zhao has been working in Beijingforfive years and has only returned hometwice in that time. “I am a temporaryworker and seldom have holidays. I evenhave to work over Chinese New Year.”

　　When asked whether or not hisparentsunderstand that work pressures keeptheir son from visiting more often, theyoung man hesitated before finally nodding.Actually, according to government regulations,aside from weekends and festivals, singleemployees in China should be given 20 vacationdays a year, or 45 days every other year, to visit theirparents; married employees are allowed 20 vacationdays every four years. If these holidays are fully used,employees should have enough time to visit theirparents.

　　“But in fact, employees in many units, especiallyin small enterprises, cannot take holidays,” saidYuan. The current vacation regulations, formulatedin 1981, do not cover enterprises that are not stateowned,meaning that most small enterprises areexempt from these rules.

　　According to Yuan, a majorchallenge facing Chinain taking care of its elderly comes from the rapidlyaging society.

　　The sixth national census conductedin 2010shows that China has 178 million people aged 60 orolder. In the next 20 years, this number will continueto increase. Data from the China National Committeeon Aging shows that 49.7 percent of aged parentsin urban areas live apart from their children, whilein rural areas, 38.3 percent of parents are separatedfrom their children.

　　Against this background, it is impossible for theChinese Government to shoulder the entire responsibilityof supporting such a large aged population, saidYuan. “Family members, society and the old peoplethemselves must work together to deal with thischallenge,” he said.

　　By Ni Yanshuo