Filial piety by decree(2)

Forcing parental love

Speaking at a press conference in December, legislator Yu Jianwei explained that China considers the amendment a long-term strategic task needed to actively confront the challenges posed by an aging society.

"These clauses carry significance for China in devising and carrying forward a national agenda on the aging population on strategic fronts," Yu was quoted as saying.

Beginning from this year, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Double Ninth Festival, will become a day to honor the elderly. Yu said he hopes the law encourages more adults to go home and visit their families, to eventually become a popular trend.

For many elderly parents, the best gift on this day might be a visit from their adult children. But for many adult children who work far away from home, going home is not easy, with time and costs forming two great obstacles.

A survey found that 77 percent of some 10,000 respondents said they visit their parents only once every six months, with 36 percent of migrant workers seeing their folks only once a year, mainly during China's Spring Festival period, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"It's not that I don't want to go home but I really don't have time," Tang Xiaohua, who hails from Guangdong Province but works in Beijing, told the Global Times.

He wants to move his parents to the big city, but he worries they would not fit in there. Even if his parents agreed to live with him, he probably could not afford it, Tang explains.

The law also requires companies to offer employees whose parents live far away up to 20 days' leave, but many companies are likely to ignore this. Furthermore, many employees worry they might lose their jobs if they return home too often.

"I feel bad for being so far away from my parents, but I send money back home every month," he said. "It is a way to show my support and love."

To most elderly people, a visit from their children is worth much more than a pile of cold banknotes though.

In October, an 82-year-old retired government official, named Ma from Shandong Province, sued his three adult children for neglect. "I don't need their money or anything. I just want them to come home and see me," he said.

This was before the amendment of the law and Ma's lawyer Wang Zhiguang told the Global Times that the judge felt troubled about interfering in family affairs. Ma eventually dropped the case.

"It really put the judge in an embarrassing position," Wang said. "If they were to order adult children to visit their parents but they didn't comply, the courts could do nothing about it."

"Nevertheless, it is a big step forward for China's law," he continued, referring to the amendment. "We might see more similar cases from now on."