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(Image source: CNN)
BY CANDICE AVILES
Visit your parents, or ... go to jail? A new law in China requires grown children to visit
their parents or face prosecution.
The law, dubbed the "Elderly Rights Law," says family members who live away from their
parents need to visit or send regards often. (Via ABC)
"The law was created because of rampant elderly neglect in China. Many of them depend on their
children for financial support." (Via WUSA)
"The kicker is that they may face jail time or heavy fines if they don't and with some
200 million elderly in China, according to the government, it certainly is a reality
for many people." (Via CNN)
A writer for Bloomberg says this law doesn't come as a surprise for two reasons.
The first, because for decades China has mandated the number of children a family can have.
"Indeed, it's because of the success of the One Child Policy that Chinese officials now
feel the need to implement the new Visit the Elderly law. ... Hence the risk from the One
Child Policy: Without brothers and sisters to pick up the slack, all it takes is one
unfilial child for the system to break down."
The writer goes on to say the second reason is because government-provided assistance
is limited. Which is why seniors rely on their children for support. Unsurprisingly, the
new law has drawn criticism.
Including regarding how it will be enforced. The law fails to outline how often children
need to visit. But BBC reports the law is meant to be a quote "educational message."
The South China Morning Post reports the law also doesn't specify a punishment for not
visiting "often" enough. One user on Weibo, a social media site in China, says "The intention
is good, but the method is bad. It is not suitable to use laws to regulate moral issues.
Morality is not something we can force."
Projections show a third of China's population will be over the age of 60 by 2050.