Chinese law ‘forcing’ children to visit parents ridiculed

A Chinese law requiring family members to visit their elderly relatives went into effect on Monday to howls of online ridicule, as the country’s huge population ages rapidly.

The regulation ‘forces’ children to visit their parents, the state-run Global Times newspaper said, with concerns growing over increasing numbers of ‘ empty nest’ homes.China’s rapid development has challenged its traditional extended family unit, and reports of elderly people being neglected or mistreated by their children have shocked China. 

Last year a farmer in the eastern province of Jiangsu faced a barrage of online criticism after domestic media revealed he had kept his 100-year-old mother in a pig sty. More than 14 percent of China’s population are aged over 60. 

The growing proportion of the elderly is the result of China’s controversial one-child policy, which was launched in the late 1970s to control population growth. 

The state-run Shanghai Daily said the new law gives parents the power to apply for mediation or bring a case to court, but experts are unclear about how the measures will be enforced, or how often visits are required.