Should Visiting Parents Be Written Into Law?

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  On July 1, the newly amended Law on Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly formally took effect. According to the law, adult children are required to visit their parents regularly.
  The same day, a woman was ordered by a court in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu Province, to visit her mother at least once every two months in addition to at least two visits for all national holidays. The mother sued her daughter for filial negligence.
  Enforcement of this Law has triggered debate within Chinese society. Supporters say writing “going home often” into law is a last resort in rekindling filial responsibility, while opponents think filial piety belongs to the realm of ethics, and so writing it into law is unnecessary. Some argue that visiting and caring for parents is hampered by limited holidays and long distances, among other reasons. Meanwhile, others worry that laws are insufficient in governing morality. The following are excerpts of opinions:
   Supporter
  He Liangliang (catv.net): Writing “going home often” into law fully embodies the virtue of the Chinese nation. In my opinion, it’s necessary to write this requirement into law.
  Today, China has more than 100 million elderly people living by themselves, particularly in rural areas. In some regions, local governments and communities help them overcome economic difficulties, but loneliness resulting from the absence of children cannot be easily comforted. They hope their children will come home to visit them, even if only once or twice a year! This is a reasonable request from parents. However, in real life, some young people do not go home often, with some not visiting their parents for several years.
  Some old people may have already lost the capability of taking care of themselves. In the past, there has been no legal basis to ask children to fulfill basic filial duties. Due to the new bill, parents can accuse their unfilial children to ensure their basic living standards are kept up. No one would wholly depend on laws to force children to fulfill their duties, but with legal support, the unfilial might feel pressed to take care of their parents.
  Modern society features a population of migration. Many families have parents and children living in different places. Because they are too busy or due to this or that kind of reason, children do not visit home often, and as a result, having their children return becomes a luxury for parents. In some extreme cases, children have never returned home since leaving for better lives. As a result, their parents live in loneliness. Isn’t this a pity?    Opponents
  Wang Jiahong (people.com.cn): Everyone is supposed to visit their elderly parents often. That’s why the legal requirement for “going home often” has caused debate.
  Actually, the necessity of going back home and visiting one’s parents regularly is undeniable. The focus of the controversy is on how often one should go home. How can the law force children to go home if they do not have enough holidays and even have no access to train tickets during big festivals?
  In real life, there are many things the law can’t help solve. In such cases, laws seem empty. As for those who are not kind enough to their old parents, it’s sometimes necessary to impose tough measures. However, in most cases, people do not visit their parents often, not because they do not miss them or are unfilial, but because they have difficulties doing so. How will the new bill help solve these difficulties?


  Writing “going home often” into law shows social concern for the elderly. However, it is also a helpless choice in an aging society.
  Wang Shichuan (catv.net): China is now home to 167 million elderly people, half of whom are left behind by their children. Such a lack of care has led to all kinds of tragedy. Traditional views hold that children are supposed to visit their parents often and even live with them. However, in reality, some children completely neglect their parents. While the new law is well-intentioned, there are many factors that prevent children from visiting their parents, and if such problems are not addressed, little will change.
  First, are children unwilling to go home to see their parents or are they prevented from doing so? Nowadays, young people tend to live in cities, or even move from one city to anther for work while their parents stay at home. Most want to go home to see their elderly parents, but are unable due to distance or a lack of holidays.
  Second, how often should children visit their parents? Is it once every month or once half a year or what? Besides, even if children do not act in accordance with the law, their parents will not turn to the law for help. If children are forced to go home, do you think families will be happy when parents receive their reluctant children? Filial piety is expected to spring up naturally.
  Third, is it OK for laws to stray into the realm of ethics? Going home often or not is related to ethics and morality. Laws are unable to solve all problems. Nevertheless, some people today have developed a kind of law worship and would like to turn to these in settling problems. The willingness and frequency of filial visitation is an issue of ethics. Using legal means seems like overkill.   Traditionally, taking care of elderly parents is regarded the responsibility of grownup children, but in some sense, it is also the government’s role. The government should take up its part of responsibility in caring for the country’s senior citizens whose families are unable to do the job. This is more necessary than forcing people go home often via legal means.
  Yan Xi (rednet.cn): Most people oppose interference by law into the realm of ethics. In most cases, it’s not that people don’t want to go home to visit their parents. Therefore, its’ better to create a friendly condition where children find it easier to go home than to force them.
  Supporting elderly parents involves more than only material concerns and time spent at home. Filial piety is not something to be simply measured by time. What old people really want is warmth and emotional satisfaction. However, this is hard to measure and can lead to dispute. In some cases, children might have already offered their parents what is generally thought of as enough, while the parents disagree. This is why some people are opposed to the “forced” visits.
  As long as elder parents file lawsuits against children, relationships will deteriorate. Instead of solving the problem, here, law is complicating the issue. Supposing children do violate the law by not going home often, will legal means be enough to persuade children to go home as often as their parents require?
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