Community works to help elderly ‘empty nesters’
Print Edition
ELDERLY locals in a Korean ethnic community in Jilin Province attach yellow ribbons to their windows, a sign they are in need of assistance.
At the beginning of the day, Wang Shuqing, the Communist Party chief of Danying Community in Yanji City, gets up at 5:30am to walk around the community.
“I need to check the windows, and see what I can do to help,” Wang said.
Large numbers of young people in Yanji, capital city of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, the country’s largest inhabitancy for ethnic Korean people, have left for South Korea or China’s eastern and southern regions to seek jobs, leaving many elderly people living alone.
With an estimated population of 350,000 elderly people, the local government is trying to help in various ways.
Wang said there are more than 900 “empty nesters,” or about 10 percent of the total population, in her community.
Most of the time she said they need assistance in their home or with some shopping.
However, yellow ribbons are far from enough when there is an emergency.
Telephones have been set up so that the elderly can contact community workers by pressing one button.
The situation is more difficult in rural areas.
Zheng Mingzi, 79, said she has struggled since her husband died early this year, leaving her extremely lonely since her children live abroad.
In 2009, Yanbian’s government began building residential courtyards for the elderly in rural villages. Seniors are invited to play mahjong, chess, or join singing and dancing groups.
So far, 1,048 such courtyards have been set up across the prefecture.
Hong Qing, prefecture deputy chief, said the government is still facing many problems in coping with the empty-nest issue, especially with a rapidly rising elderly population.
The prefecture’s elderly population is projected to exceed 500,000 by 2020 from 350,000 now.
“We are trying to improve infrastructure and create associations for the elderly to ensure a better life for them,” Hong said.
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