Court says daughter must visit her mom
Source: Xinhua |
July 3, 2013, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A CHINESE court has ruled 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 visit their elderly parents regularly. It was handed down on Monday 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 visits, Chu's daughter and son-in-law were ordered to see Chu at least three times during major traditional holidays.
The daughter could be fined or detained if she fails to fulfill her obligations, the court said.
In recent years, there has been 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.
"With their spiritual needs neglected, many elderly people are suffering from loneliness and depression," Zhou said.
The amended law is part of the government's efforts to deal with a rapidly aging population.
It specifies that those who live separately from their elderly relatives should visit them often, requiring employers to grant leave of absence to the relatives of senior citizens.
The number of people aged 60 and over is expected to reach 202 million this year, or 14.8 percent of the total population, according to a report from the China Research Center on Aging.
Chi Yuelan, who lives alone in Beijing, hopes the law will prompt her son to see her more often. "From time to time, I have missed him so much that I wept," the 72-year-old widower said.
However, the regulation has been hit by an avalanche of criticism from the public, who say it lacks details on enforcement.
Questions have been about how often children must visit and what penalties will be meted out to those who fail to do so.
The verdict was the first of its kind given in accordance with the law that requires adult children to visit their elderly parents regularly. It was handed down on Monday 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 visits, Chu's daughter and son-in-law were ordered to see Chu at least three times during major traditional holidays.
The daughter could be fined or detained if she fails to fulfill her obligations, the court said.
In recent years, there has been 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.
"With their spiritual needs neglected, many elderly people are suffering from loneliness and depression," Zhou said.
The amended law is part of the government's efforts to deal with a rapidly aging population.
It specifies that those who live separately from their elderly relatives should visit them often, requiring employers to grant leave of absence to the relatives of senior citizens.
The number of people aged 60 and over is expected to reach 202 million this year, or 14.8 percent of the total population, according to a report from the China Research Center on Aging.
Chi Yuelan, who lives alone in Beijing, hopes the law will prompt her son to see her more often. "From time to time, I have missed him so much that I wept," the 72-year-old widower said.
However, the regulation has been hit by an avalanche of criticism from the public, who say it lacks details on enforcement.
Questions have been about how often children must visit and what penalties will be meted out to those who fail to do so.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
