人口老齡化催生立法 子女不常看望老人違法

Mothers and fathers aren't the only ones urging adult children to visit their parents. China's lawbooks are now issuing the same imperative。在中國，不光年邁父母期盼成年孩子能經(jīng)常回家探望，就連法律也制定了相似的條例。

New wording in the law requiring people to visit or keep in touch with their elderly parents or risk being sued came into force Monday。新修訂的《老年人權益保障法》于7月1日生效，其中規(guī)定，成年子女應當經(jīng)?？赐蛘邌柡蚶夏耆?，否則就會面臨被起訴的危險。

It is primarily aimed at raising awareness of the issue, said one of the drafters, Xiao Jinming, a law professor at Shandong University. "It is mainly to stress the right of elderly people to ask for emotional support ... we want to emphasize there is such a need," he said。山東大學法律系教授、該法案起草者之一肖金明說，這樣做的目的是讓人們意識到養(yǎng)老問題。他說：“主要是強調(diào)老年人有權利要求精神慰藉……我們想強調(diào)老人有這樣的訴求。”

Cleaning lady Wang Yi, 57, who lives alone in Shanghai, said the new law is "better than nothing." Her two sons work several hundred kilometers (miles) away in southern Guangdong province and she sees them only at an annual family reunion。今年57歲的王怡(音譯)是位清潔工，獨自居住在上海，她說這個法律“總比什么也沒有強”。王怡有兩個兒子，現(xiàn)在都在幾百公里外的廣東省工作，只有每年過年團圓時才能見到一面。

"It is too little, for sure, I think twice a year would be good," she said. "We Chinese people raise children to take care of us when we are old."她說：“哪怕一年見兩次面也好，現(xiàn)在見面機會太少了。我們中國人撫養(yǎng)孩子，就是希望等我們老了能有個照應。”

China's legislature amended the law in December following frequent reports of elderly parents neglected by their children. It says offspring of parents older than 60 should see that their daily, financial and spiritual needs are met.中國立法機構在十二月修訂該法律之前，曾有一系列報道稱年老父母被兒女忽視。報告稱60歲以上的父母應該確保兒女能滿足他們的日常生活、和物質(zhì)精神需求。

Although respect for the elderly is deeply engrained in Chinese society, three decades of market reforms have accelerated the breakup of China's traditional extended family, and there are few affordable alternatives, such as retirement homes。盡管尊敬長輩深深植根于中國文化中，三十年的市場經(jīng)濟改革使得中國傳統(tǒng)的家族意識日漸淡薄，而其他諸如養(yǎng)老院一類的贍養(yǎng)方式價格不菲。

Rapid aging poses serious threats to the country's social and economic stability, as the burden of supporting the growing number of elderly passes to a proportionately shrinking working population and the social safety net remains weak。老齡化速度過快，對中國社會經(jīng)濟的穩(wěn)定發(fā)展都帶來巨大威脅。社會保障制度仍不全面，工作人口所占比例不斷減小，但卻要負擔起更多老齡人口的衣食住行。

Zhang Ye, a 36-year-old university lecturer from eastern Jiangsu Province, said the amended law was "unreasonable" and put too much pressure on people who migrate away from home in search of work or independence.36歲的張燁(音譯)是江蘇省東部某大學講師，她說這次修訂案“不切實際”，對于那些遠離家鄉(xiāng)尋找工作謀求獨立的人來說壓力更大。

"For young people who are abroad or work really far away from their parents, it is just too hard and too expensive to visit their parents," she said. "I often go to visit my parents and call them ... (but) if a young person doesn't want to, I doubt such a law will work."她說：“有些年輕人身在國外，或遠離家鄉(xiāng)，對他們來說經(jīng)?？赐改负茈y做到，而且花銷太大。我經(jīng)常回家探望父母，和他們打電話……但是要是孩子不愿這樣做，我認為法律對他們也不會起作用。”