Chinese put forth new legislation: Adult children have to visit aging parents
December 31, 2012
The adult children in China now are required to visit their aging parents - or they could get sued by them, according to The Associated Press. Chinese legislature amended a law this past Friday stating so. The law enforces that adult children visit their elderly parents "often," but the legislation does not specify how many times the often consists of.
This new clause now lets elderly parents take their children to court if they feel as though they have been neglected. The law's inception came from numerous reports in which children were not visiting their elderly parents - many of whom reported they were abandoned by their kids, according to the news source.
China's new stories are continually reporting stories about adult children neglecting their aging parents. Earlier this month, there was a story of a woman in her 90s from the Jiangsu province being forced to live in a pigpen for two years by her son, according to the media outlet. This isn't the only story, as state media speaks often of neglect while also talking about how children are taking over their parents assets without them knowing.
This has become a growing problem in China, as market reforms in the past three decades have impacted and broke up the Chinese traditional extended families. In addition, there aren't that many alternatives in terms of senior homes. Not to mention, the increase in population has also be coupled with the increase in life expectancy. In just the past 50 years, it has gone from 41 to 73. The family planning processes has also been derailed by the limit of one child per household. With all of these things combined, it is difficult to care for the aging population in China, the media outlet reports.
The aging population is not just affecting those in China, but also in the U.S. As the massive baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, more needs to be done to ensure these seniors can the care they need. However, it is very unlikely such a law would be drawn up in the U.S.
Those who want to talk about the recent law coming into effect can make calls to China using international calling cards.