Outrage over woman, 92, kept ‘caged’
Print Edition
FOOTAGE of a 92-year-old woman reportedly kept for years by her son in a pigsty has incited an online firestorm, as China grapples with the question of how to provide for its increasingly ageing population.
The woman, surnamed Yang, was kept in a pigsty by her son and daughter-in-law, who did not provide her with enough food or clothing and constantly beat and scolded her, according to the local Nanguo Morning News based in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
A video of the woman’s appalling living conditions appeared on China’s social media platform Weibo.
“I cannot see things,” said Yang feebly, inching herself towards the bars of her enclosure.
Her son and daughter-in-law claimed Yang had voluntarily moved into the doorless, fence-and-stone-enclosed “kitchen” beside their house, denying that she was kept in a pigsty, the Nanguo Morning News said.
Photos of a rag-clad Yang being rescued by local government officials appeared on Weibo after the video went viral earlier this month. She is now being treated at a local hospital, but has not fully recovered.
The videos and photos infuriated Chinese netizens, who accused her children of “inhumane” and “animalistic” behavior, saying that the pair “will be treated in the same way by their children when they get old.”
China’s population is rapidly ageing, and weaknesses in its elder care system have left many in dire straits, often without access to proper care and assistance.
The problem is even more severe in the vast rural areas, where elderly people are often left alone while their children migrate to big cities for jobs.
In 2013 China passed an “elderly rights law” requiring children to regularly visit their parents, among other points. China has more than 212 million people over 60.
- 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.
