First elderly care case heard after law amendment

A Chinese court ruled on Monday that a woman must visit her mother every two months, citing a controversial revised law on elderly care that took effect the same day.

The verdict was the first of its kind given in accordance with the law that requires adult children to regularly visit their elderly parents. It was handed down by the People's Court of Beitang District, Wuxi City in east China's Jiangsu Province.

The court ruled in favor of the 77-year-old plaintiff, surnamed Chu, who sued her daughter for neglecting her. In addition to the bimonthly visits, Chu's daughter and son-in-law were also ordered to see Chu at least three times during major traditional holidays, according to a court statement.

The defendant could be fined or detained if she fails to fulfill her obligations, said the statement.

In recent years, the court has seen an increasing number of cases in which senior citizens have sued their children over a lack of emotional support, said Zhou Qiang, the court's president.

However, their demands lacked a legal basis until mandatory requirements on visiting the elderly were added to the Law for the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, Zhou said.

"With their spiritual needs neglected, many elderly people are suffering from loneliness and depression," he added.

The amended law was adopted last December by the top legislature as part of the government's efforts to deal with a quickly aging population.

It specifies that those who live separately from their elderly relatives should visit them often, requiring employers to grant leaves of absence to the relatives of senior citizens.

By the end of 2012, 194 million people in China were over age 60, an increase of 8.91 million compared with 2011, according to a report from the China Research Center on Aging.

The 60-and-over population is expected to reach 202 million this year, or 14.8 percent of the total population, while the country's working population is shrinking, said the report.

Chi Yuelan lives alone in Beijing and hopes the law will prompt her son, a frequent business traveller, to see her more often.

"From time to time, I have missed him so much that I wept," said the 72-year-old widower.

However, the regulation has been hit by an avalanche of criticism from the public, who say it lacks details on enforcement.