Expert interprets law requiring people to visit elderly relatives

A controversial revised elder care law that stipulates regular visits to elderly family members is aimed at backing social ethics with legislation, according to a Chinese legal expert.

The revised Law for the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, which went into effect on Monday, has generated huge debate over whether visiting elderly family members, an ethical issue, should be legislated.

"Our country is in a period of social transformation where the influences of family and society ethics have weakened, and using the law to improve social ethics is inevitable," said Xiao Jinming, a professor with the Law School of Shandong University.

Xiao participated in the entire process of the law's revision.

Citing an increase in ethics-related legislation over Good Samaritan, charity and volunteer services, Xiao stressed that the law can never be completely separated from ethics and, in many cases, the two function together.

China was home to about 194 million people aged 60 and over by 2012, accounting for 14.3 percent of the total population, and the large movement in the population, reflected in migrant labor forces, has led to more elderly people lacking adequate physical and emotional care.

The revised law specifies that relatives should attend to the needs of their elderly family members and those who live separately from their elderly relatives should visit or contact them regularly.

It encourages family members to live with or nearby their elderly relatives and requires employers to grant leaves of absence to the relatives of elderly people in accordance with relevant regulations.

Addressing further concerns about how the law could be applied to real cases, Xiao clarified that "regularly" is defined by both common sense and local standards, and the clause is more of an encouragement than a judicial approach.

Xiao noted that for those who are too busy to pay regular visits, chatting with their elderly family members on the phone or via text messages is also acceptable, as the law says "visit or contact."

According to Xiao, the revised law shows that the government and employers are also responsible for caring for the elderly.