Mandating Virtue:
China’s New Elderly Rights Law
By Dale Gao
In a growing economy, citizens have become more attached to materialistic pursuits and cases of abandonment and mistreatment have become more common in China.
I
n the past, filial piety has been the norm for
Chinese citizens ever since the introduction of Confucian philosophy. Adults would take care of their parents when they were deemed to be too old to take of themselves. However, times have changed as children are becoming less attached to their parents by moving away from their home village and into the rapidly expanding cities for work. In a growing economy, citizens have become more attached to materialistic pursuits and cases of abandonment and mistreatment have become more common in China. There were even cases where adults tried to seize their elderly parents’ assets without approval. While these cases are shown to be malevolent, there have been other situations in which children were unable to visit their parents because they did not have the time to do so. Distance has been a hassle since a visit might take up half of the visiting child’s day or longer. Working overtime has also become so common that family members would have to wait until the holidays to visit their loved ones. Although China’s economy is flourishing, it comes with the price of parents feeling neglected by their children. In response to the complaints by the elderly citizens, the Chinese government implemented a revised law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Elderly People in the summer of 2013. Starting on July 1st, “family members living apart from the elderly should frequently visit or send greetings to the elderly person.” With this new law, parents now have the legal right to sue their children if they ever feel that the children are not fulfilling their filial duties. In one case, Ms. Chu, an elderly woman from the eastern city of Wuxi, sued her daughter and son-in-law on the same day that the law was enacted because of neglect. The Wuxi court ruled in the 77-year-old mother’s favor as her daughter and son-in-law must visit at least once every two months as well as pay her compensation. Failure to visit would allow Ms. Chu to ask authorities to fine or even detain her children.
Media outlets in China often portray adults to have abandoned and rejected their caretakers, which I find heartbreaking to hear. To see parents who have spent many years caring and making sacrifices for their children receive no recognition or appreciation in return is extremely despairing. Nonetheless, the idea of parents’ suing their own child for neglect is a bit unfortunate. I do understand that they yearn for their children’s attention and support, but I am sure there are better ways to get children to be more respectful towards their parents than turning a virtue into a law. To all Binghamton students who are living away from your parents or guardians while attending school: Although filial piety is not legally enforced in the United States, from time to time, contact your parents to see how they are doing. Hopefully, our government would never have to pass a similar law. Ms. Chu attends the hearing of the case against her daughter and son-in-law.
Vol. XXVII, Issue 1
15