While A large percentage of India s elderly face abuse and neglect from their children, China is moving a step further by perpetuating their citizens to take care of their elderly parents.
people.
According to state media, the new clause was added to existing legislation because China's growing elderly population is becoming increasingly China is adding a new revision to the neglected. With this law, it will give the Law on Protection of the Rights and elderly a framework to justify pursuInterests of the Elderly People, which ing legal action if they feel they have been disregarded by their children. was passed in December. The preemptive measures intended to scrub out levels of loneliness among the aging population won t mitigate the fact that the worker:pensioner ratio in China is clearly off-balance, mostly as a result of the one child The law says adults should care about policy implemented in the 70s. The their spiritual needs and only child becomes responsible for carJulyparents 15, 2013 never neglect or snub elderly ing for both parents and usually both It enforces frequent visits to the elderly and forbids any form of domestic violence, such as insulting or discriminatory language, physical torture and abandonment.
sets of grandparents, which is a great financial burden for a single person.
According to the Global Times, China had 185 million people at or above age of 60 by the end of 2011. Cases of abuse against elderly have increased manifold in past few years. This law stipulates that support to aged parents does not change with their marital status. Although, experts believe the current revision looks more like a reminder of traditional values rather than compulsory law. Under the law, parents are allowed 1 to sue their negligent children.