Chinese told to visit parents 'often' or risk being sued

VISIT your parents. That's an order.

An elderly Chinese man sits alone in a park in downtown Beijing. China has amended its law on the elderly to force adult children to visit their aged parents "often" - or risk being sued by them. Source: AP

China's national legislature on Friday passed a law requiring adult children to visit their aged parents "often" - or risk being sued by them. The amendment does not specify how frequently such visits should occur. State media say the new clause will allow elderly parents who feel neglected by their children to take them to court. The move comes as reports abound of elderly parents being abandoned or ignored by their children.

A rapidly developing China is facing increasing difficulty in caring for its aging population. Three decades of market reforms have accelerated the breakup of the traditional extended family in China, and there are few affordable alternatives, such as retirement or care homes, for the elderly or others unable to live on their own. News outlets frequently carry stories about parents being abused or neglected, or of children seeking control of their elderly parents' assets without their knowledge.

 

A rapidly developing China is facing increasing difficulty in caring for its aging population. News outlets frequently carry stories about parents being abused or neglected.  

The expansion of China's elderly population is being fuelled both by an increase in life expectancy - from 41 to 73 over five decades - and by family planning policies that limit most families to a single child. Rapid aging poses serious threats to the country's social and economic stability, as the burden of supporting the growing number of elderly passes to a proportionately shrinking working population and the social safety net remains weak.

Source: news.com.au